SOLDIER Zanpakuto
by RagnellAlondite
Summary: One small change can have far reaching consequences. What if Zangetsu wasn't Ichigo's zanpakuto? What if a warrior was reborn to be his zanpakuto, a warrior long forgotten? Together they will fight to protect those they love, as Ichigo wields his new zanpakuto, Cloud Strife!
1. Chapter 1

_AN* Hello everyone. Here I am with a new challenge brought to you by DragonOfChallenges, so all credit goes to him for this idea. Credit also to Mangacity where I reread the chapters needed to write this chapter in particular. This is likely going to be the only chapter where I rely so heavily on canon, as it takes me awhile to find good scans of it since I am poor and cannot afford to buy the manga myself. Anyways, enjoy and leave me some reviews._

 **My Name Is**

Kurosaki Ichigo was officially at the end of his rope, or chain in this case. Trapped in the bottom of the pit for the second part of Uruhara's training to regain his Shinigami powers and his Chain of Fate was now in it's final stage as all of the remaining links were now trying to devour themselves. Panic set in along with the pain and somehow thought it all though Ichigo found himself standing somewhere else. It wasn't the same pit that he was in, or the underground training hall that Uruhara had underneath his shop, though there were similarities. He was standing in a desert of some sorts, gray clouds floating by overhead and nothing living for as far as the eye could see. His gaze searched for a few moments until he finally spotted someone standing near by. Blond hair up spikes, indigo pants and sleeveless shirt covered most of his body with brown combat boots and heavy gauntlets covering his feet and hands and a single pauldron on his left shoulder. His gaze fell onto Ichigo and the glowing blue eyes sent a shiver down Ichigo's spine as he tried to hold the gaze.

"Kurosaki Ichigo..." He muttered as he stared at him before turning his gaze behind Ichigo "You still want to live, to fight and protect those you cherish?"

"Yeah... Who are you?"

"An apt question, but one you are not ready to know yet." he smirked "Not if you want to live."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look around again." the man said and following his words Ichigo turned his gaze around and saw the world crumbling around him "If you want to remain human you had better hurry and find your Shinigami powers. The powers that were awoken once Rukia Kuchiki gave you hers. Byakuya only destroyed Rukia's powers but failed to realize your true powers were awakening as well. Find them before this world completely disappears, find them before then or become a hollow."

Ichigo blinked as he tried to figure out what to do, tried to think of what would give it away, when a thought crossed his mind and he focused on a memory with Uryu telling him that a Shinigami's Reiraku was red. Grinning Ichigo reached out his hand grabbed the red clothe and ran along it. The man only smiled as he watched Ichigo run away from him, and towards the cliff where the the red clothe led directly to a buster sword embedded in the ground. The ground crumbled away faster and faster and at the last instant Ichigo grabbed the sword and felt the rush of power hit him, the power that was so familiar and all his own fill him up as Ichigo's mind left the desert and he was back in the training room, standing in front of Uruhara and his assistants, having just used the hilt of his broken zanpakuto to smash the mask off of his face.

"Congratulations!" Uruhara began "You have completely changed into a Shinigami. Good job! You've passed the second test!"

"Shut up." Ichigo seethed as he slammed the end of the hilt into Uruhara's eyes "Since I came back alive that means you'll be dead. I've already made a promise, if I left that hole alive, I will and must KILL YOU!"

"Oh. That's ok. With your attitude right now we can proceed straight to the third test." he said as he stood up and grabbed his cane "Talking about the third test, there will be no time limit! All you have to do is use your zanpakuto to cut the hat from my head. It will count as a win" Before he could finish Ichigo was already on the move swinging the broken blade at Uruhara with enough force to slightly surprise the man "Pretty good. Even a broken sword can have such power..."

"Of course! When I get serious it will be better than this!" Ichigo laughed "You don't have to say there is no time limit! I'll only need five minutes to finish you off!"

If Ichigo had known the man better he would have realized the folly of his words as Uruhara's eyes took a steely glint to them.

"Is that so." he said as he lowered his head slightly so the hat blocked Ichigo's view of his face as he drew his cane sword "Then I'll give you five minutes. You can try to finish me off."

Without any further hesitation Uruhara struck, his blade swinging at Ichigo who was quickly trying to stay out of his reach, shocked at the speed of the strikes and damage that they inflicted on the various rocks that got in their way as Ichigo leapt away.

"You... You're pretty good! With that thin sword!" Ichigo grinned as he leapt away again.

"Aiya, thank you for the compliment. I feel embarrassed. However I won't go easy on you because of that!" Kisuke laughed as he chased Ichigo some more, his blade swinging and slicing through the rocks with ease.

"That's my intentions exactly you bastard!" Ichigo shouted as he kept ahead of the blade.

" _Hold on... In order to kill Shinigamis and Hollows you can only use a zanpakuto. That sword came out of his cane. It couldn't be a zanpakuto! If that's the case then nothing will happen if I'm hit by it"_

Before Ichigo could continue that line of thought as he turned towards Uruhara, the shopkeeper's blade slashed into his shoulder and head, knocking the remains of the Hollow mask of his head.

"You seem to relaxed. "He's not a Shinigami so he shouldn't have a zanpakuto. Even if I'm hit nothing will happen." You really are too innocent." Uruhara said in all seriousness "Awaken, Benihime." With those words the sword transformed into it's true form, it took the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword, the hilt's grip, which was a gentle black-decorative wrapping, bent forward at the end, with a pommel shaped overlap three times, and a crimson tassel dangling from its base. Instead of a tsuba, there is a U-shape guard covering three inches of blade, with a flower petal design. At the base of the guard was a red string wrapped three times around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on the back side and a folded paper decoration on the front side. The blades hamon was straight, colored black with a silver edge, and was somewhat thicker than it's sealed state. It remained straight and slim with a somewhat short size, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of tapering to a point.

"This is a real zanpakuto."

"Zanpakutos... name." Ichigo repeated back in shock.

"That's right. Every zanpakuto has it's own name. And this, is her name." Uruhara said as he raised his blade towards Ichigo "Go, Benihime." Swinging the blade with such power caught Ichigo off guard as the rock behind him was destroyed and he was sent flying back through the rubble. As Ichigo got his footing he saw Uruhara coming through the smoke and raised his broken zanpakuto up to block the strike and for a moment their blades met and held.

"Instead of running away you use your broken zanpakuto to block Benihime, I should compliment you. You have a lot of courage. However... With this kind of zanpakuto you have, there is no way that it can block Benihime."

As soon as those words left his mouth Uruhara's blade began cutting through Ichigo's zanpakuto cutting off a two inch chunk of the blade and forcing Ichigo on the retreat again as he tried to figure out what was happening

"Didn't I tell you?" Kisuke asked as he pursued Ichigo, taking his side in an instant "That your strength is only a little bit greater." Ichigo reacted as quickly as he could, swinging the broken blade at Uruhara who only leaned back enough to avoid it "Your power did not solidify, it only bloated up into the shape of a sword. That is why I can break it so easily!"

Swinging Benihime he sliced through a greater chunk of Ichigo's broken blade, leaving him with only the hilt "Now, your sword is gone. What now? You still want to use it to beat me? What was all that "talk" about... You just have to slash my hat. Can you do it with that hilt of yours? However it can no longer be solved by guts and courage. Let me tell you this right now. If you still want to fight me with that toy, I will have to kill you."

As Uruhara said those words Ichigo felt the pure killer intent behind them and knew that he was serious about this, and in that moment ran. However Uruhara was not finished as he pursued him, closing the distance in a matter of seconds.

" _What are you doing Ichigo?" the voice of the man in the desert asked._

Ichigo didn't respond as he dodged again, trying to stay alive.

" _If you want to live you have to fight."_

" _I can't!"_

" _Dilly dally shilly shally." the man scoffed and he could feel Ichigo's confusion at this statement "You have everything that you need to succeed but you are too scared to reach for it. Fear will keep you alive, but fear will never let you stop running. Fight Ichigo, show him that you are not some scared teen, but that you are a man that can protect your friends! Shout my name, show him our strength Ichigo! My name is"_

"Cloud Strife!" Ichigo shouted as he swung the remains of the hilt at Uruhara and watched as the hilt transformed in his hands, changing into a buster sword, as long as Ichigo was tall and a full foot wide, with a single sided edge that was a lighter gray color than the rest of the blade and two holes in the blade one above the other right near the guard just above a series of etchings. The guard had a gold swirl design pattern on it and the hilt felt perfect in Ichigo's hands as the blade met Benihime he felt the blade resonate in his hands.

" _We are not done yet Ichigo!" Cloud Strife shouted "Raise your right hand, focus all the heat you can into the palm!"_

Not doubting him for a second Ichigo did as Cloud Strife said, raising his hand and focusing on it until he could feel it building like a pressure and as his eyes flashed into the same blue that Cloud Strife's were he unleashed the attack.

"Fire!" he roared as the ball of fire launched off of his hand and Uruhara blinked as he hastily used Benihime to create a shield to defend him from the blast of fire and blinked in surprise as he felt the wind from the attack take the hat from his head, letting it drift to the ground.

" _Well done Ichigo." Cloud Strife nodded in approval "That was only the first ability that I can teach you. There are many more if you are going to grow into the true power that I know you will."_

"Impressive Kurosaki-kun." Uruhara nodded as he put the green and white stripped hat back on his head "You have awoken an impressive zanpakuto."

"Yeah. Cloud Strife..." Ichigo nodded as he put the blade onto his back and felt it rest there with a comfortable heaviness.

"Well let's get you back in your body and you can go eat." Uruhara chuckled "After that we continue our training."

"Is there more I have to do?" Ichigo frowned.

"We are ahead of schedule actually." he admitted with a chuckle "But your enemies in Soul Society will be powerful, and have plenty of experience. Constant battle will do you well."

" _He is right." Cloud Strife agreed "It is a good chance for me to teach you more about combat as well."_

"Hey Hat and Clogs. Is my zanpakuto supposed to be talking to me as much as he is?" Ichigo asked.

Kisuke blinked at Ichigo's question and turned to look at him with a somewhat serious expression "What is it saying?"

"He's talking about training me, teaching more ways to fight." Ichigo remarked and Kisuke's seriousness grew into a frown.

"You said your zanpakuto's name was Cloud Strife correct?"

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded.

"For now, do as he says. If he wants to show you how to use his abilities than I suggest that you listen. Most zanpakuto's aren't that forthcoming." Kisuke noted as he started to walk away "Now let's eat!"

Ichigo blinked at the sudden change in topic but couldn't disagree that he was kind of hungry, filing Cloud Strife away for later thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN* Hello again everyone. I have got to say that I am surprised by the positive feedback that I got for this and hope to see it continued. Now this chapter won't have any action in it, more of a buildup chapter to be fair. One last thing from me, a lot of you asked about what materia will Ichigo be using. To answer he will have only the spell materia at this time, so any of the magic skills that you can learn in FF7. Summoning, Enemy Skills, and so one are not present at this time, though that may change in later chapters. Ok, enough out of me, enjoy the story and leave some more reviews._

 **Soul Society**

It was just after midnight on the day that Urahara had told him that they would be going to the Soul Society to save Rukia and while Ichigo waited Cloud Strife was talking to him.

" _Spells to use against a fast water type opponent?" he asked._

" _Bolt and slow against them, and haste on myself."_

" _Good." Cloud Strife chuckled "Ice opponent?"_

" _Bolt or Fire?"_

" _Fire is the preference however Bolt can work as well in certain situations." he nodded._

" _Why are we going over this?"_

" _To make sure that you are not caught off guard. During a fight I might not be able to give you advice fast enough for it to be effective so I need to know that you are fully understanding your own abilities."_

" _Still, how many more will I unlock?"_

" _Most of the techniques that I have told you about you are still not ready to use yet, though you are growing closer." Cloud remarked "Not to mention the more powerful versions of spells that you have already learned. There are a number of techniques that you will learn but knowing them is only a part of it. Knowing how to use them, when to use them, what works best and what doesn't. That is what I am really teaching you. You need to understand an opponent at a glance, need to be able to come up with ways of fighting them in seconds, because that may be all of the time that you have."_

" _If you say so." Ichigo nodded._

" _Good then let's continue."_

For another thirty minutes Cloud Strife quizzed Ichigo until it was only a few moments before 1 in the morning when Ichigo turned to look out the open window to see the sphere with Urahara's face on it come flying through the window to splatter in what looked like blood, telling Ichigo to meet outside of Urahara's shop immediately.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ichigo shouted.

" _Wow... I expected more from him to be honest. This looks like a dying message from some cheesy horror film." Cloud Strife noted._

That was when the rest of the message revealed itself to say that anyone that thought it looked like a dying message in blood had no sense of humor, getting a chuckle from Cloud Strife as Ichigo threw a pillow at it in anger. As Ichigo finished getting ready and started walking out the door he muttered a goodbye to his family and opened the front door.

"GOOD... MORNING... ICHI... Wow." Ishin Kurosaki shouted as he leapt off the roof intent on slamming into Ichigo, though the teen had taken a step too far ahead and the man had slammed head first into the ground instead.

" _How is he sill alive?" Cloud Strife asked, completely stunned._

" _When I figure it out you will be the first to know." Ichigo promised._

"You dodged my attack just now... No wonder you are my son." Ishin said as he pulled himself up from the ground.

"YOU! What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo shouted.

"Before... Before you leave... I wanted to give you this." Ishin said as he handed Ichigo a charm.

"This dirty safety charm?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"Don't call it dirty, that's rude!" Ishin exclaimed in outrage "That's the charm you mom gave me! It will bring fortune and good luck!"

As those words left his mouth Ichigo's eyes widened before he shouted "What're you doing?! How can you give me this!"

"Of course I'm not giving it to you!" Ishin countered "I'm only lending it to you while you're out traveling."

Ichigo looked to the charm in his hand and for a brief moment was stunned by the gesture his father was giving... Until the man opened his mouth again.

"Oi! Why don't you answer me?! If you lose it then you have to shave! My beard!" Ishin shouted as he flailed about in a somewhat comical fashion.

" _Is that supposed to be a threat?" Cloud Strife asked in confusion._

" _From him, I am not sure." Ichigo replied._

Ichigo stared at the charm in his hand for another moment before speaking.

"... Then, I'm borrowing this."

Ishin only smiled as Ichigo ran off towards Urahara's shop while Cloud Strife spoke up.

" _He is one of the weirdest people I have ever seen, but he really does care about you a lot." Cloud noted "We better be sure to get back alive and well."_

" _Yeah."_

As Ichigo ran he eventually came up to a corner where Inoue Orihime was coming from, giving Ichigo the chance to call out to her.

"Kurosaki?" Orohime called back slightly surprised as Ichigo ran alongside her.

"You were also summoned?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong? Seems like you're kind of down." Ichigo noted.

"Um actually... I was told I have no sense of humor." Orihime shuddered getting Ichigo to blink and Cloud to let out a low chuckle.

"Well... Before Uruhara-san mentioned it... I didn't know that you were really going to be coming." Ichigo remarked.

"Yeah." Orihime smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, because I made the decision myself!" she smiled wider.

"I see. Then let's hurry." Ichigo nodded as they picked up the pace. It only took about ten minutes to reach the shop and found that the third member of their team was already there waiting for them.

"... Hello..." Ichigo panted out as he saw his friend Chad sitting outside the shop.

"You... You're fast... Chad..." Orihime gasped.

"Yeah... I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk and got the notice around here." Chad replied.

"Around here?" Ichigo blinked, just as Chad pointed towards a spot where indeed the message was written much to Ichigo's shock.

" _Urahara doesn't do anything by halves it seems." Cloud Strife noted._

"Oh yeah.. Where's Ishida? I heard he was coming too." Ichigo asked as he looked around.

"Ishida will come, just wait." Orihime said with certainty.

"He won't come." Chad remarked.

"Chad!" Orihime exclaimed in an admonishing tone.

"It's no big deal Inoue. Ishida... It's better if he doesn't come. Among us he's... the most complex. The more complex a person is the weaker they are, that's just who he is. So I think he's the weakest amongst us. If he didn't come I think that would be better..."

"Who did you say won't come?" Uryu asked as he approached, dressed all in white "Didn't I tell you? I can't forgive myself losing to those shinigami, so I had to train hard. Since I said that I won't stop until I win, for that I'll go anywhere."

"Ishida." Orihime smiled "Thank you."

"You... You misunderstood..." Uryu panicked "This has nothing to do with Kuchiki, why can't you understand that?" The young quincy took a moment to collect himself before turning to look at Ichigo "I also want you to see, Kurosaki, how strong I've become."

"Ishida... Did you walk all the way here in that weird clothing? That's very brave of you." Ichigo noted as he took in Ishida's appearance.

"How can you say this is weird?!"

"Oh, everyone is here. That's great!" Urahara noted as he walked up and opened the door to the shop "Now everyone come in and I'll explain to you how you're getting to Soul Society. Please listen carefully, otherwise you might die before you get there."

The four teens followed the eccentric shopkeeper into the shop and then down the massive ladder into the underground training room that Ichigo had been in to regain his shinigami powers. As they reached the ground Orihime exclaimed about the place and how it was amazing and like a secret base, getting Tessai to tell her how touched he was by her reaction.

" _At least someone appreciates this place." Cloud Strife chuckled "It is a little over the top to be fair though."_

"Ok everybody!" Urahara called to get their attention "We're about to go!" with that he snapped his fingers and from four black portals emerged four stone rectangular cubes that formed a large doorway right behind where Uruhara was standing "This is the doorway to Soul Society, Senkaimon. Please listen carefully. I will not teach you the way to go through this door without dying." With that Uruhara walked over and used his cane to remove Ichigo's soul from his body, just as Chad caught his human body.

"He's been completely separated." Uryu noted as he crouched down next to the human body, poking the left arm.

"So then Kurosaki can't enter the Kurosaki over here?" Orihime asked as she poked the other arm.

"Of course. You're saying it like I'm Kintarou's candy." Ichigo remarked and after a moment added in "Why are you guys freely touching my body?"

"That's right! That body will soon be temporarily mine! You guys should not just touch it!" Kon shouted as he popped up on Ichigo's left shoulder.

"Wuagh?!" Ichigo exclaimed in shock and even Cloud Strife blinked in shock at the sudden arrival of the talking toy.

" _Where the hell did he come from? I don't remember us grabbing him."_

"Ah! But Inoue-san can touch it!" Kon exclaimed.

"Kon! Why are you here?!" Ichigo shouted, slightly oblivious to the fact that Ishida and Orihime were stunned by the fact that the stuffed lion toy was talking.

"You're asking me why?! Of course I'm going with you!" Kon shouted, shaking one his arms at Ichigo, completely focused on the shinigami that he didn't notice Chad moving towards him "You want to leave me behind?! As the man, Kon, I will go through all difficulties and reach the Soul Society" Before he could get any further Chad had grabbed him and lifted him towards his face, earning a scream of pure terror from Kon.

"Ok, look over here! I'm ready to start the explanation about the door!" Urahara shouted to get their attention "Usually the door is made by adding Reishihenkankon to the top of the Sankaimon, and the use of Ketsugofou to cover it up."

"Reishihenkanki?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes. As you know the Soul Society is the world of souls, in order to go there you have to be a soul. But the only one that can move around as a soul is Kurosaki, who is a shinigami. For others, even if their souls are separated from their bodies, they're still chained by the chain of fate, not to mention to go to the Soul Society it's even hard to move. That's why there is a need for a Reishihenkanki. This thing changes the Kishi, which makes up the things in the living world, and turns it into Reishi, which is the main component of souls!"

"So it means that we don't have to separate the souls, we just have to go through this door." Uryu said as he finished looking over the doorway.

"Right!" Uruhara grinned "You guys can go to Soul Society in your original form!"

"Okay, I got it." Ichigo nodded as he started forward.

" _STOP!" Cloud Strife shouted, causing Ichigo to stop, just as Urahara put his cane in front of Ichigo, showing that it would have jabbed into him if he had kept going "What he has spoken of so far is not dangerous, let's wait for him to finish."_

" _Ok, sorry." Ichigo sighed._

" _Patience before anything else Ichigo." Cloud Strife reminded him_

"Now is the important topic." Urahara continued "There's no problem going through the door. Reishihenkanki won't bring pain, as long as you go forward you can go to Soul Society. The problem is "Time". The time allowed to go through the Senkaimon to Soul Society is only four minutes."

"Four minutes!" Orihime whispered in shock.

"Once the time is up, the door will close, and you will be forever locked inside the Dangai." Urahara added "Plus inside the Dangai, in order to prevent enemies such as Hollows, is filled with a current called Kouryuu which can stop souls from moving. Just one foot caught by it, and the chances of leaving the Dangai in time are almost impossible."

"... Then... What should we do?" Orihime asked.

"Just keep moving forward." A rough voice to the side said, and as they turned to look it was a cat walking towards them.

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Didn't I tell you? The heart and soul are connected. What's important now is what your heart thinks." Yoruichi stated, stopping in front of the Senkaimon "Only those who can do it may follow me."

There a was a moment of silence amongst them before Ichigo spoke up.

"What are you talking about? Those who chose to gather here have made the decision and have chosen to follow it."

"You should know very well kid. If you lose you will never return." Yoruichi noted.

"Of course we have to win!" Ichigo stated.

"... Well said." Yoruichi nodded as Uruhara began opening the door.

"Are you ready?" he asked "The moment it's open you'll dash in there."

"Got it." Ichigo nodded.

" _The time has come Ichigo. There is no more time left for hesitation." Cloud Strife said "We shall bring war upon Soul Society to save our friend."_

" _Yeah."_

Behind them they could hear Kon struggling through the tape that was holding him to the ground, and Ichigo spoke one last thing to the mod-soul.

"Kon. Please take care of my family." Ichigo said.

"It's open!" Urahara exclaimed as the door opened and the four humans and one cat charged into the opening, entering a corridor of darkness and what looked like melting walls.

"This is the Dangai..." Ichigo muttered.

"Come on! Don't zone out!" Yoruichi roared "The Kouryuu will close in!"

That galvanized them into a full sprint and after a minute or so Uryu looked back and shouted that it was catching up to them, covering the places they had been.

"If you have time to look back then you have time to run faster!" Yoruichi shouted, as a section collapsed on the side a little ahead of them, causing them to stagger a moment, and for Uryu to be grabbed by his cape by the Kouryuu.

"Idiot! It's because you're wearing that weird outfit!" Ichigo shouted as he reached for the hilt of his sword.

"Hold on! Don't use your zanpakuto here! Kouryuu traps souls! If you use your zanpakuto here it will trap you!"

As Ichigo quickly ran through his list of spells Chad reacted first, grabbing Uryu by the back and ripping away the cape, then throwing him over his shoulder and sprinting towards their exit.

"Put me down Chad! I can run by myself! Put me..." Uryu had started shouting before he looked up and quieted down "Wait... Guys look... It seems like something is coming..."

Yoruichi glanced back and the look on the cat's face was one of terror as out of the Kouryuu emerged a gigantic thing that was best compared to a train rushing towards them, a giant light at it's top.

"What is that?!" Uryu shouted.

"That's Seimicho! The janitor that comes out every seven days... Why today of all days?" Yoruichi exclaimed "Anyways let's just escape! That thing is really fast!"

There was no argument as they ran faster, quickly approaching the exit, but Seimicho was gaining much faster and was almost about to hit them when Orihime glanced over her shoulder and her face solidified into determination.

"Himusaku, Umeigen, Ririi, Santenyuitate! I Summon Thee!" Orihime shouted as she created her triangle shield in between them and the Seimicho. What they hadn't expected was the shield to send them flying out like a shot and the only reason they survived the entrance was due also to Orihime's shield managing their landing, though Uryu and Ichigo's landings were not pretty compared to the crouching Chad.

"You alright everyone?" Orihime asked as she loked at them before her gaze stopped at Ichigo who had landed on his shoulders with his lower body bending around so his face was almost level with his crotch "Wha! Kurosaki's landing pose is so artistic!"

"You talk too much." Ichigo grumbled as he righted himself.

" _I wish I could say that I have seen worse landings, but I really haven't." Cloud Strife sighed "But I guess we should just be thankful that we're alive."_

" _You talk too much too." Ichigo grunted, getting a chuckle out of the spirit._

"Ouch..." Uryu sighed as he sat up "I really didn't expect us to be this pathetic. Totally unexpected. I didn't think I'd have to use the backup so soon."

That got slightly stunned expressions out of Chad and Ichigo who just stared at the Quincy.

"But it's great! Looks like no one was hurt!" Orihimi smiled, until Yoruichi headbutted her in the eye.

"What's so great about it?!" the cat snapped "Did you even listen to what I said?! Good thing it was only the shield that was touched by Seimicho! If it was the main body of Rokka you would have been dead by now!"

"Sorry..." Orihime muttered.

"It's ok, why do you have to be so angry? We're all fine because of Inoue." Ichigo remarked.

"You..." Yoruichi growled out "Seems as though you don't understand the current situation."

"Oi!" Uryu called out as he finished changing his cape "The smokes clearing."

True to the Quincy's observation the smoke was clearing revealing what looked like old japanese style homes that would be seen in small villages back in the world of the living.

"This is Soul Society?" Ichigo asked looking around.

"That's right." Yoruichi nodded "This is the outskirts, the so-called Ryuutamashiikai. The place where souls first live when coming to Soul Society, it's located around the Tororei. Ryuutamashiikai is the poorest and most free area, while also holding the most souls."

"But we can't see anyone." Uryu noted as he glanced around, as did Ichigo who made an interested noise.

"What? The streets over there is not that different from the ones we live on." Ichigo noted, and indeed he was right as the streets did look much newer and better treated.

"Ahhh... That one." Yoruichi began, as Ichigo started towards it at a jog.

"I know! That should be, whatever it's called, where Shinigami live right?" Ichigo remarked as he got closer to it, and Yoruichi began to freak out.

"Idiot! You can't just go near there! You'll die!" Yoruichi screamed.

"Er?" Ichigo blinked as he looked back, stopping short of being crushed by the giant falling gate and walls that fell from the sky, creating a gigantic barrier between the two sections of Soul Society. As the smoke started to clear a voice spoke.

"It's been so long... Someone who wants to go through Torureimon without a pass." Ichigo turned at this point to see the giant figure standing there, tall enough to likely open the gate and with armor on his right arm he looked down on Ichigo before continuing "I finally have something to do. I'll treat you well kid."


	3. Chapter 3

_AN* Hello again everyone, first allow me to apologize for the long delay. I have been distracted with other projects and have not had the patience to go back over the chapters of Bleach that relate to this chapter. Now there is only one thing that I need to address that kamenheroHEISEI brought up and I will address it in part here._

 _The spells that Ichigo uses are very similar to Kido in essence however the cost is much higher, and unlike Kido the spells will grow stronger the more they are used. This was part of the challenge, so please do not complain about me using them._

 _Ok, anyways leave your reviews at the end and let me know how I did._

 **Gate Crashing**

Ichigo stared at the giant before him as he took a hand axe out from his back with his right hand and slammed it down next to Ichigo making the ground tremble as the giant chuckled.

"Bring it on." he grinned "Attack me from whatever angle you want, Kiddo."

" _He's a big one alright." Cloud Strife chuckled._

" _That he is. So any advice?"_

" _Only to let him take the first attack. Let's see what he can do before coming up with any solid plans."_

"So big! Who is he? With such a huge body there is no way he can be human... right? Just who the hell is this guy?" Ishida muttered.

"His name is Jidanbou. He is one of the elites in the Soul Society. The guard of one of the four gates. The west gate, generally called the Seireimon Gate guardian." Yoruichi explained.

"Guardian huh? It means we have to defeat this monster to enter the Tororei." Ishida surmised.

"That's right. But it isn't going to be a simple task." Yoruichi nodded "After all, he's been a guardian for three hundred years. And until now no one has ever passed him to enter Seireimon Gate."

"Is he that strong?" Ishida asked.

"Yes. A swing from his axe and you will disappear from this world. He is the legendary Hercules." Yoruichi replied.

"So how do we cope with such a giant?" Ishida frowned in thought.

"This is all about mental work." Yoruichi answered "Ichigo retreat! We'll come up with a plan!"

"Got one already thanks!" Ichigo shouted back.

"What?!" Yoruichi shouted as the cat then saw that Orihime and Chad were running towards Ichigo "Chad! Orihime! Didn't you hear me?! Get back!"

As the two ran towards Ichigo Jidanbou saw them and raised his axe and with a mighty swing caused the ground in between Ichigo and his friends to rise up and form a giant barrier between them.

"Your behavior sickens me. Are you from an uncivilized area?" Jidanbou asked as he looked over the wall "Listen, this city has rules. First, wash your hands when you come back home. Second, don't eat food that has fallen on the ground. Third, a duel is nothing else but one on one. My first opponent is the spiky orange haired triangle eyed kid! Before I am finished with him, you guys standing there should keep quiet! Since you are visitors here you should follow the rules of the city."

"Orihime." Chad whispered "I'll make a hole in the wall, you take that chance and attack him"

"What are you doing?! Planning a sneak attack?" Jidanbou exclaimed as he looked over his shoulder at them, startling the two.

" _Tell them to stand down." Cloud stated._

" _Yeah, if we don't follow his rules we might never get in." Ichigo agreed._

"Hey! Chad, Orihime!"

"Kurosaki-kun! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Orihime shouted back.

"I'm fine." Ichigo replied.

"Hold on a sec, we're almost there!" Orihime said.

"Ah- I just wanted to talk to you about that. Chad and you just stay there. Don't do anything alright?"

"Eh... What are you talking about? If" Orihime began.

"Don't worry! Wait there!"

"What are you talking about?!" Uryu shouted as he moved up to the wall "You've seen for yourself how strong Jidanbou's power is! I don't care what you have learned in the past ten days, he is not the kind of opponent you can beat by yourself!"

" _I feel insulted by that." Cloud frowned as he heard Uryu speak._

"Oh, there you are Ishida." Ichigo noted.

"I've been here since the beginning! Do you want to piss me off?!"

"You are so noisy..." Ichigo sighed.

There was a moment of quiet when Chad finally spoke up "Can you win?"

"Possibly." Ichigo mused rubbing the back of his neck in thought.

"What the hell is possibly?! Do you realize the situation you are in?!" Uryu shouted as he banged on the barrier near Ichigo's head.

"I said don't worry. Do you want to know what I've learned since I regained my Shinigami powers? I'll show you." Ichigo grinned as he moved forward a bit "The original plan was for me to recover in ten days, but I actually recovered by the fifth. During the five days that I had left, what do you think I did?"

"What... What did you do?" Uryu asked.

"Fighting of course. Fighting. During those five days, day and night, I fought against that tall hat guy. Even while I slept my Zanpakuto wouldn't let me rest with my previous defeat and pushed me mentally even further."

"Ah... So he taught you all of his battle skills." Uryu exclaimed.

"You are wrong." Ichigo chuckled as he drew the buster sword from his back "That was Cloud Strife that taught me that. No, what he taught me was inexhaustible energy and courage. I am armed with both of those for the first time!"

With that Ichigo moved towards the giant, his entire body language screaming confidence.

"Are you finished?" Jidanbou asked.

"I'm ready. Thanks for waiting for me to finish, since I didn't ask you to." Ichigo replied with a grin.

"It seems as though you are one of those uncivilized people. So disrespectful." Jidanbou raised his right arm with the axe in the hand up as he spoke "I wasted my time waiting for you... You should be grateful!" He finished with a shout as he brought down the axe towards Ichigo in a mighty swing.

" _Let us see what he is capable of." Cloud grinned._

" _Yeah."_

Moving a half step forward Ichigo raised Cloud Strife up and matched the blow with ease, holding the axe away from him with ease.

"I wasn't ready yet. That wasn't very courteous." Ichigo smirked.

" _His power is impressive but that is where it ends." Cloud noted "His axe is nothing special in itself and as long as you don't get hit then you should be fine. His speed isn't too high so I doubt you will even need to use a single spell."_

" _Thanks Cloud."_

The two held the weapons against each other for a few moments before Jidanbou started to laugh.

"You're not bad! This is great! It's been awhile since someone could block my axe!" He laughed with a grin before he took a deep breath "Ok... This way I can finally use all of my strength."

" _Cloud?"_

" _Slight bluff." Cloud mused "He may be able to use a bit more power but in the end that first blow was blocked with just a simple swing from you. Even if he tripled his strength the lack of special skills in his weapons and low speed will barely make this a challenge for you."_

"Good luck Kiddo. Until now there has only been three people who could block my axe, including you. But the ones that can block my second... THERE HAS BEEN NONE!" Jidanbou exclaimed as he brought the axe high above his head. Ichigo raised his own blade ready to meet the strikes and mentally preparing himself for whatever would come next. The strike fell with greater power but Cloud's assessment had been accurate and it was nothing that Ichigo couldn't handle on his own.

"Great! You're still standing!" Jidanbou grinned "I'm not finished yet! Now die! Juppon Jidanda Matsuri(Ten Buffalo Red-Strikes Festival)!" Jidanbou then raised the axe and began swinging it down again and again on Ichigo while counting out loud "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six!" Each strike was powerful enough to send up a blast of dirt and dust but Ichigo stood with Cloud Strife held up against the blows, barely feeling them as they made contact "Seven! Seven! Eight! … Ah... Five! Six!"

" _Who taught him how to count?" Cloud asked in shock._

" _No clue."_

As the last strike hit Ichigo turned the blade so that it changed from a downward strike to one that became horizontal and destroyed the barrier separating him from the others.

"How... How can you still be standing?" Jidanbou asked in utter shock as he stared at Ichigo.

"Are you finished yet?" Ichigo asked, his eyes showing the deadly commitment he had as he moved Cloud Strife from a one handed grip at his side into a two handed grip with the blade facing Jidanbou "Then it's my turn now."

"N... No! It's still to early! I'm not done yet!" Jidanbou exclaimed as he pulled out a second axe, much to the shock of the others. Bringing the axes together and making grunting noises in preparation he raised the two blades above his head and continued speaking "Take this! My final attack! Banzai Jidanda Matsuri(Ten-Thousand Buffalo Red-Strikes Festival)!"

" _We have wasted enough time." Cloud sighed._

"Sorry." Ichigo said as the attack was about to start "I'm going to have to destroy your axes."

With a single swing Ichigo slashed through the weapons as they got into range, moving Jidabou's arms to the side with the force of the swing as chunks of the axes flew around him, and the giant fell to the ground in shock. A moment of stunned silence gripped them all before it was broken by Jidanbou speaking.

"What... What happened?"

"Wha... What did Kurosaki do?" Uryu asked in shock.

"That giant... That great body... Got blasted away?" Chad remarked, just as stunned.

A moment later Jidanbou leapt back up to his feet and tried to play it off as though nothing had gone wrong.

"Fuah! That was really dangerous! Just got distracted for a second then found myself completely knocked down!" he laughed.

" _Do we have to kill him?" Ichigo asked in shock._

" _Maybe, but that might make it difficult to open that gate." Cloud noted._

"What an expression! Did you really think that you had defeated me? Hahah! Don't be silly! There's no chance that I would be beaten by a guy like you!" Jidanbou laughed.

" _On second thought, go ahead and kill him." Cloud shrugged "Serves him right for underestimating you like that."_

"That's why I hate these uncivilized ones! Hold on, right now I will use my... Axe?" Jidanbou continued as he looked to his right hand where he held the remains of his axe "Axe? My Axe? Where is my Axe?" he was soon looking back and forth between his hands in utter shock and misery as he realized that they had been destroyed with that swing "Axe." As he said that word tears began forming in his eyes and then he collapsed on the ground crying "It's broken?! It's broken! You bastard! My Axe, it's all your fault!"

" _I amend my previous statement. He's too pathetic to kill." Cloud sighed._

" _Sh... Should I apologize?" Ichigo asked._

" _I guess. Your call really." Cloud shrugged._

"Is... He crying now? What on earth happened to him?" Uryu asked in shock as the three of them watched.

"Er... It's a bit strange to say... But sorry, for damaging your axe. I shouldn't of broken both of your axes... Should I?" Ichigo managed to get out, feeling incredibly awkward about the whole situation.

"You... You are such..." Jidanbou sobbed as he lifted his head enough to reveal the tears pouring out of his eyes and the snot coming out of his nose "You are such a good guy! I am your foe... I lost the battle and you still care about me. You are such a great guy! You have such a generous personality!"

"Actually I just wanted to soothe your sadness, you cried so bitterly." Ichigo muttered.

"On the contrary, what am I doing? Crying like a baby only because of a broken axe... I lost..." Jidanbou said as he stood up before shouting "I LOST COMPLETELY! BOTH AS A WARRIOR AND AS A MAN I WAS UTTERLY DEFEATED!" The giant paused for a moment to dry his eyes before looking down at Ichigo "I have been the gatekeeper of the Hakutou Gate for 300 years. I have never lost a battle. You are the first. Go inside! I, Jidanbou, grant you my permission to pass through the Hakudou Gate!"

"Are you serious!" Ichigo grinned.

" _Good work. But the real battle will begin soon." Cloud noted with a small smile "Be ready."_

" _I will."_

"Are you sure you can allow passage?" Orihime asked as they walked over.

"Yes. Your boss defeated me, a loser like me will not be able to stand in your way." Jidanbou nodded.

"Did you say Boss?! What nonsense!" Uryu shouted pointing angrily at Ichigo.

"Is it necessary to get so angry?" Ichigo muttered as he stared at the Quincy.

"Is your name Kurosaki?" Jidanbou asked as he moved toward the gate.

"Yeah, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Ichigo... What a lovely name."

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! IT IS BY NO MEANS A LOVELY NAME!"

" _Touchy subject huh?" Cloud chuckled._

" _Stay out of this!" Ichigo snapped back at the Zanpakuto who only chuckled some more._

"Take care of yourself Ichigo. I don't know the reason you want to go through, the warriors inside are all powerful guys." Jidanbou warned.

"I know." Ichigo nodded back.

"... I see... Then you better be prepared. Alright, I'm opening the gate now. Don't be astonished, take a breath and rush inside." Jidanbou explained as he gripped the bottom of the giant gate and with a grunt of exertion began lifting the huge obstacle until it was over his head.

"Woah! Terrible strength!" Ichigo said in shock at the feat.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you guys going in? Is there something wrong?" Jidabou asked, until he started making a noise in utter worry. Moving towards the open gate Ichigo saw a man approaching them, dressed as a Shinigami with a white coat on with no sleeves. His hair was silver and his eyes were squinted closed with a grin on his face that was anything but friendly.

"Who is this guy?" Ichigo asked as he assessed the man.

"Captain of the Third Division, Ichimaru Gin." Jidanbou said in fear.

"Ah, this is not allowed." Gin remarked. In a flash before anyone realized what had happened Gin had struck, drawing his sword, severing Jidanbou's left arm and sending if flying away and then sheathing the blade again all in the span of a few seconds.

" _Ichigo! That man is dangerous! Finish him quickly before he kills Jidanbou!"_

"That's too bad. You're a gatekeeper, opening the gate is not your job." Gin noted as he eased out of his fighting stance, and right back into it as Ichigo struck. Closing the distance between them in flash Ichigo brought Cloud Strife down towards Gin who raised his own blade to block the slash with ease until he felt the pressure behind the blow and realized that Ichigo was trying to kill him.

"Nice shot, my turn." Ichigo grinned as he moved his hand down and Gin blinked when he saw a blue light forming in his hand "ICE!"

From the hand a blast of icicles shot towards the captain who leapt back and used his blade to shatter them before they could scratch him.

"My my that was unexpected." Gin chuckled as he looked at Ichigo.

"Inoue!" Ichigo called out "Take care of Jidanbou's arm."

"Right!" the orange haired girl nodded as Ichigo focused on Gin.

"Come, if you're so eager to fight then I will be your opponent. For a no good punk who attacks an unarmed man so hastily, I'll rip you apart." Ichigo growled out as he prepared to try and finish Gin in one blow.

"Ha! You're such an interesting guy." Gin grinned "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Hell no." Ichigo replied.

"Oi! Stop messing around Ichigo! We need to fall back!"

"I've got this!" Ichigo shouted back.

"So you're Kurosaki Ichigo." Gin nodded.

"You know me?" Ichigo frowned as he saw Gin starting to walk further away "Oi! Where are you going?!"

"If that's the case, I definitely can't let you pass." Gin said as he stopped, a good distance away.

"Then why are you walking so far away? Are you going to throw that knife at me?" Ichigo snarked.

" _Ichigo... Remember what he did to Jidanbou. It is safe to assume that there is more to his sword then meets the eye." Cloud warned._

" _Suggestions then?"_

" _React. Dodge his first strike then counter. He is fast, so we must be as well." Cloud replied._

"It's not called knife." Gin said as he went into a stance, pulling his right arm back with an evil grin "Shoot to kill, Shinso(Sacred Spear)!" Thrusting his arm forward the blade extended at a speed that Ichigo hadn't expected it to and it took every ounce of skill to block it, and realize that the force behind it was too great to stop.

"BOLT!" Ichigo shouted, choosing to not aim the strike towards Gin who might be able to dodge it as he was sent flying away but at Shinso which would conduct the electricity back to the man. Ichigo smashed into Jidanbou with enough force to send both of them flying out of the gate but Ichigo was able to see that Gin had not expected the counter Ichigo had gotten him with as he had been forced to drop his Zanpakuto and his hand was smoking slightly. Picking up his blade he sheathed the smoking blade as he walked over to the closing gate and leaned down as it started closing.

"Bye-Bye." Gin smiled as the gate finished closing, blocking them out.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN* Hello again, I am sorry it took so long but life is what it is and my own personal projects have been taking up more time then I thought they would. Anyways there are no reviews that demand my attention in this note so please enjoy the newest chapter and feel free to leave more reviews._

 **Breaking And Entering**

"Kurosaki-kun! Are you ok Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue shouted as she ran towards him with the others.

"ARGH! That son of a bitch! He nearly killed me with that!" Ichigo shouted as he sat up, still gripping Cloud Strife in his right hand.

" _Be thankful you can still complain." Cloud remarked "That Shinso was dangerous."_

"He's lively, he's okay right?" Inoue asked.

"Be thankful it ended this well." Youichi remarked.

"Sorry... Because of me the door." Ichigo sighed.

"Forget it. There is no point in feeling bad about it, and even though the door is closed that was Ichimaru Gin. Even if we had passed through the results would have been the same if not worse. Be thankful that you weren't too injured." Youichi replied. Nodding Ichigo stood up and returned his zanpakuto to his back as he turned towards the village at the slight sound of movement and saw that there people coming out of the houses now.

"People..." Uryu noted.

"Who are they?" Ichigo frowned "Were they hiding all along?"

"Why?" Inoue asked.

"Can't blame them." Youichi remarked "Anyone that was not guided here by a Shinigami is considered an intruder. They are seen as the troublemakers of Soul Society. They were hiding because they were afraid."

"Are they dangerous?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Well they are showing themselves now so probably not." Youichi mused. Before they could worry more about the sudden appearance of the people they heard the sound of a young boy pushing his way through the small crowd towards the front.

"Mister! Long time no see! It's me, the parakeet Shibata!"

"Shibata?!" Chad said in shock at seeing the young boy.

" _That boy was a parakeet?" Cloud asked in confusion._

" _It was before we met." Ichigo replied._

" _I gathered that much." the zanpakuto deadpanned._

With Shibata's approval the men were soon moving Jidanbou's severed arm back towards his body so Inoue could start the healing process while Ichigo stood nearby to help with the healing once Inoue got it started.

"A lot of Shinigami are jerks." One of the men said who was standing by Ichigo "But Jidanbou's from the alley too. So he is nice to us. Seeing you go against Ichimaru Gin for Jidanbou must mean you're a good guy too."

Ichigo let Inoue work for a few hours before he walked up and tapped her shoulder, getting the girl to jump in surprise.

"Take a break. I'll work on it." he said.

"It's ok, I'm almost done." she smiled.

"Yeah, but Cloud will chew my ear off if I don't work on this." Ichigo sighed as he placed a hand on the wound and closed his eyes. This was one of the basic spells that Cloud had insisted that he learn, making the argument that he may need it in a life and death situation and it was better to know how to treat your own wounds in battle then having to rely on someone else, especially if you got separated from the medic of your group.

"You can heal people too?" Inoue asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Cloud Strife won't explain everything but he has said that my abilities will be pretty varied." Ichigo nodded "Cure..." As the last word left his mouth a green glow appeared from his hands and a small chunk of the wound was healed, no larger then the palm of his hand but it was still there.

"That's amazing Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue exclaimed.

"It's useful, but it only works on a small area. Not like yours that was doing everything." Ichigo replied.

" _It will get stronger the more you use it." Cloud replied "Now go make her rest. She was at it for five hours before you decided to relieve her. Now you get to finish this off for your dilly dallying."_

"Go rest, I'll finish up." Ichigo sighed as he focused on continuing the healing.

"N... No." Inoue tried to argue, just as a large group of men ran over and told her that she had done enough and told her that they were thankful for her on Jidanbou's behalf. As she finally left to go and rest Ichigo overheard several of the remarks the men had to say about them and heard Cloud starting to chuckle.

" _What's so funny?"_

" _Your girlfriend is very popular."_

" _Sh.. She's not my girlfriend!"_

" _Oh? Then it's this Rukia that you are trying to save?"_

" _NO!"_

" _Oh... I didn't realize that you played for that team."_

" _WHAT TEAM?!"_

" _Well I'm sure that Chad is a nice"_

" _SHUT UP!" Ichigo roared in anger._

Muttering to himself as he heard Cloud laughing at his reaction Ichigo focused on healing Jidanbou. It was slow going and by the time he stopped the wound was now shallow enough where it would heal the rest of the way on it's own in a day or two. Sighing Ichigo walked back towards the house that the others were in and nodded to Uryu as he walked in.

"Good, you're here." Youichi nodded from next to Chad and across from the headman "How is Jidanbou?"

"Almost back to 100%." Ichigo sighed "Inoue did all the hard work but I managed to finish it up."

"Good. Come and sit. I want to discuss our plan for tonight and tomorrow." Youichi stated. Once they were all seated Youichi began explaining the situation.

"First, once the gate is opened the security behind it will increase dramatically."

"So then beating the guardian for passage won't work anymore." Uryu noted.

"Breaking in like that was never a good idea in the first place." Youichi snarked "Anyways we won't be able to use the Hakutoumon anymore."

"What about the other gates?" Chad asked.

"They are at least ten days away. We would be wasting a lot of time just going there."

"Th... Then how are we going to..." Uryu trailed off.

"Don't worry. If we can't get in using the gate entrance, we'll just have to go in without using a gate." Youichi said with a smug look.

" _Oh I am going to like this plan." Cloud chuckled._

"Elder-dono. Shiba Kukaku. Do you know where Shiba-san is?" Youichi asked as the elderly man looked shocked at the request "In the past the place used to be somewhere around here but since Shiba-san is a drifter there is a chance"

"Shiba Kukaku... Can it be that you plan to go into the city through "That"?" the elder asked in shock.

"What do you mean" Ichigo began as as strange sound was heard, getting him to pause as he looked towards the door "What is that sound?"

A moment later a person was sent flying into the door, holding what looked like a broken set of reigns as he skidded across the floor. A moment later a large pig walked into the doorway to the shock of Ichigo and his friends.

" _Well there's breakfast." Cloud remarked._

"Ahh... I got thrown from my pig again." the man said as he stood up and then addressed the elder "Yo! Long time no see old man."

"Ganju! It's you! What are you doing here? Go back home!" the elder exclaimed.

"It's just I haven't seen you in awhile so I came by, but you're already kicking me out? You're scaring the guests so don't be impolite." Ganju remarked.

"That's because of you!"

"Hold on a minute." Ganju said as he stared at Ichigo and then pulled down his goggles "What the?! What's a punk ass Shinigami doing in here?!"

" _Be the bigger person Ichigo. It's not worth attacking him." Cloud said._

" _I know." Ichigo agreed._

"Yo, say something. I asked you a question." Ganju said as he got in Ichigo's face "What is a punk ass Shinigami like you..." He then lightly slapped Ichigo's right cheek before he grabbed his chin "Doing in a place like this?"

" _Fuck it." Ichigo sighed._

" _Make it count." Cloud agreed._

With that Ichigo slugged Ganju across the face with a left hook that sent the man skidding across the floor.

"Why the heck did you punch me Dandelion Head? Are you trying to pick a fight? Huh?"

"That's my line you pig riding barbarian! Suddenly barging in here, who the hell do you think you are?!" Ichigo shouted back.

"They... They're going to fight... What should I do... I have to stop them..." Inoue freaked out.

"Just as I thought." the elder sighed.

"What do you mean just as you thought? Who is that Elder-dono?!" Uryu exclaimed.

"What? You really don't know who I am? You sure are an ignorant Shinigami." Ganju huffed "Alright, I'll tell you." he paused to take a breath before shouting "I'm Ganju! Self-Declared "Nishirukongai's Crimson Bullet"! Self-Declared the number one "The man that is most wanted to be called Boss of the Nishirukongai" for 14 years! Also, Self-Declared "The man who hates Shinigami the most in Nishirukongai"

" _If he added any more self-declared to that title of his he would be the biggest idiot that I had ever seen." Cloud sighed "Kick his ass already so we can find Shiba Kukaku."_

As Cloud finished Ganju charged Ichigo and rammed into him sending both of them flying outside, where Ganju's underlings moved in to stop the rest of Ichigo's group from interfering. Ganju stood first and glared down at Ichigo.

"You better leave this place! As long as I'm alive I will not allow a Shinigami to reside in Nishirukongai"

Before he could finish speaking Ichigo slammed a foot into his face and sending Ganju back a few steps to the shock of his subordinates.

"That's enough. You didn't even hear me out and you just go around hitting people. Even if you really wanted to fight me you aren't good enough to be my opponent." Ichigo remarked as he stood up.

"Punk! That's twice in a row that you punched my handsome face!" Ganju shouted through the hand that was holding his injured face.

"I kicked you the second time, Idiot." Ichigo retorted.

"Oi! Ichigo, stop it! Don't waste your energy on a useless fight!" Youichi shouted.

"Might be useless but I'm not going to turn my back on him." Ichigo countered.

"If you're not going to leave Shinigami, it seems that you and I... Are destined to fight!" Ganju shouted as he drew his blade.

"Ganju! Stop this at once! He is not a bad Shinigami!" the Elder shouted.

"Shut up!" Ganju shouted back "You should know very well Elder! A Shinigami is a Shinigami, there are no good or bad ones!" Ganju then turned his attention back to Ichigo and charged at him with a roar. As Ganju charged towards him Chad had grabbed Cloud Strife and threw it to Ichigo who called out a thanks as he brought the buster sword into a block, stopping Ganju easily.

"Don't assume that with a larger sword you'll be able to beat me!" Ganju grinned.

Stamping his foot on the ground Ganju grinned as Ichigo looked confused at the sound before Ganju put a hand on the guard.

"Sink down!" he shouted as he pushed down and Cloud Strife sank into the ground up to it's hilt. As Ichigo blinked at the trick Ganju launched a kick at Ichigo that got a grin out of the teen as he held up his hand towards Ganju.

"Barrier!"

As Ganju's kick got closer a wall of pale green appeared in front of Ichigo and seemed to absorb the impact of the kick and had Ganju leaping backwards as he glared at Ichigo for a moment before charging back in. Ichigo contemplated blasting him with more magic but decided that he could handle this himself as he blocked the overhead chop that Ganju tried with a simple karate block before grabbing his arm and then smashing his fist into Ganju's face as he was off balance. Ganju shocked Ichigo as he kept his footing and glared at Ichigo who blinked at that.

"That didn't knock you out? You are tough." Ichigo noted.

"Punk." Ganju glared as blood dripped out of his nose. It seemed like they were going to keep going for a few seconds until the sound of an alarm clock ringing stopped them as one of Ganju's men shouted for him.

"It's not good Boss! It's already 9 o'clock!"

"What?! 9 o'clock?! Oh no! Come here Pig-chan!" Ganju shouted then whistled. The pig did arrive, leaping over Ichigo's head and then ramming into Ganju, sending him tumbling backwards as he got back up and mounted the pig.

"Ok then..." Ichigo muttered in confusion.

"I'm not runnin away Dandelion-Head! I've just got somewhere I've got to be! Wait here until I get back! Don't you run away like cotton in the wind!" Ganju shouted at Ichigo as he and his lackeys rode off at high speed.

" _Ichigo..." Cloud began._

" _What?"_

" _Two things. First things first. PULL ME OUT OF THE GROUND ALREADY GOD DAMMIT!"_

" _Right... Sorry." Ichigo chuckled sheepishly._

Walking over to his Zanpakuto he gripped the blade and pulled it out of the ground with a little effort and could feel Cloud was displeased with how the fight had gone.

" _Now, second thing. He's not worth it."_

" _What?" Ichigo blinked._

" _He is some small town punk that you are likely never going to see again. What does it matter what he thinks? We have more important matters to attend to then settling some spat with an arrogant fool. Rukia is depending on you, do not let her down."_

" _But..."_

" _If it means that much to you we will track him down later and make him beg for his life. Is that better?" Cloud asked._

" _I guess." Ichigo sighed._

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue began.

"It's fine." Ichigo sighed as he shook his head "What are the odds that I'll see him again?"

"Slim to none." Youichi remarked.

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Let him have his bragging rights." Ichigo grumbled "I don't like it but Rukia needs us more then I need to beat up some idiot."

"Very mature." Youichi snorted as they made their way back inside.

* * *

The next morning they were on their way out again, heading a distance away from the village following a map that the elder had drawn for them. It had led to a short conversation about why Kukaku would live so far away from the village and when they saw the house Ichigo and Cloud were both pretty sure that it was because of how the house looked. The house itself was pretty normal but the two gigantic human arms holding a giant banner with Shiba Kukaku written on it were definitely cause for concern as was what appeared to be a gigantic chimney that was larger then the arms itself, though the top of it was sealed off.

" _I don't want to be seen going in there!" Ichigo shouted._

" _Unfortunately invisibility is not one of the skills I can teach you." Cloud replied._

As they followed Youichi towards the house they heard a shout of "Hold on!" as two giant men leapt down in front of them, staring down the group.

"Who are you?" the first one of the twin guardians asked as he stared down at the group.

"You're clothes are really weird, and one of you looks like a shinigami." the other remarked.

"A bunch of suspicious people!" the first one declared "We, Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko will not let you pass!"

"Get out or else you will die here!"

" _This appears to be a running theme." Cloud noted._

" _Should I just beat them up?"_

" _I'd advise against since we are here to speak to the owner of the house."_

Before Ichigo could prepare to fight Youichi walked towards the group and the brother on the group's left hand side widened his eyes in surprise.

"Youichi-dono!" he exclaimed. This seemed to be all that was needed for them to be allowed in as they walked into the house and started down a long flight of stairs as Shiruganehiko waited outside while his brother led them down while apologizing for the inconvenience to Youichi who in turn apologized for not making their presence known.

"Please wait here for a moment." Koganehiko said as he went to the door to the next room.

"Is it Koganehiko?" A voice called out from the next room.

"Ye... Yes!"

"Seems like there is a rare guest... Hurry up and open the door! Don't be slow!"

"Yes! I will open it immediately!" with that Koganehiko pulled open the door revealing a woman lounging against several pillows with her right arm missing and wrapped up just above where the elbow would be and the hilt of her weapon just visible over the bandaged arm.

"Hi. Long time no see, Youichi." the woman smirked.

" _Well this is certainly a surprise." Cloud noted._

"Kukaku is a woman?!" Uryu exclaimed in shock.

"Who are these kids?" Kukaku asked looking at Youichi who had padded into the room.

"Kukaku actually, I came here to ask you a favor." Youichi said.

"I thought so. Isn't it the same every time you're here?" Kukaku replied "Is it really complicated?"

"I think so."

There was a moment of silence between the two before Kukaku spoke.

"Ha! It's been a very long time since we had this type of conversation... Okay, tell me. I love complicated stuff." Kukaku grinned. So Youichi began explaining everything as the four sat down and waited. During the conversation Kukaku had gotten started smoking from her pipe but listened without interruption until the very end.

"I see. I think I understand. Alright I'll accept the job." Kukaku nodded.

"Really?!" Youichi blinked in shock.

"Yeah. Since Urahara is a part of this I can't really refuse. However, even though I trust you, That doesn't mean I don't trust those kids. I'll send one of my men with you just to make sure. No objections?"

"Of course not." Youichi replied.

"Your man?" Ichigo frowned.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. But he's just a punk, he's still not good enough." Kukaku explained as she stood up and when to a door on the side of the room "Oi! You ready?!"

"No wait!" a voice on the other side called out.

"I'm opening the door! Be courteous!"

"Got it! Ok Big Sis."

With that she opened the door and revealed a very familiar face.

"Hello everyone! I'm Shiba Ganju! Pleased to meet you!" Ganju smiled, dressed in more formal clothing compared to ruffian appearance he had the day before.

" _Well what do you know. Karma." Cloud chuckled._

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared before Ganju shouted "AHH YOU!"

Ichigo remained calm as Cloud warned him that starting a fight in front of his older sister was a quick way for them not having a way to save Rukia.

"What? You guys know each other?" Kukaku said in shock. As she said this Ganju leapt towards Ichigo who was about to put up Barrier again when he saw Kukaku move and slam her fist into Ganju's head and stop him from attacking.

"Stop this right now!" she roared as she brought Ganju to the ground "What on Earth has gotten in to you?! You attacked the moment you saw him!"

"B... But Onee-sama" Ganju began, and was promptly kicked in the face for it.

"You dare talk back to me?!" she snapped as she put Ganju down again and then looked at Ichigo with a glare.

"Yo Punk!" she said as she grabbed him by the head and made sure that he was looking her in the eye "This is my home, if you don't like the way I run things the get the hell out!"

"Got it..." Ichigo nodded.

"Okay. As long as we're clear." she said as she released him.

" _See, if you had attacked like you first wanted to you would likely have gotten your ass kicked by that woman." Cloud chuckled._

" _No kidding. She is scary."_

"Alright Everyone!" Kukaku shouted getting their attention "Now, follow me this way."

With that she led the group down another level where it was now even brighter, prompting Uryu to make a comment on the matter about how it was so bright with no signs of electrical wiring, and Kukaku's comment on how she had put light vines in between the ceilings and walls before she ordered Ganju to open a particular door that she had stopped outside of. As Ganju opened the door they entered a large circular room where in the center of the room was a black column on a giant circular pedestal.

"What... Is... That?" Ichigo asked in shock.

"I'm using that to send you in the Seireitei, from the sky!" Kukaku grinned.

"The sky?!" Uryu exclaimed.

"I'm Shiba Kukaku, the first class fireworks master in this place!"

"... Fireworks Master?" Ichigo repeated in shock.

"That's right." Kukaku nodded "Koganehiko! Shiruganehiko! Pull us up!"

"Yes Ma'am!" The two shouted. As they did whatever it was that they were doing on the surface the ground started to shake as the room was slowly raised up to the surface and the ceiling opened up allowing them to reach the surface.

"So?!" Kukaku called out getting them to focus on her "Amazed kids?! This is my personal firework station!"

"Kukaku Cannon!" Ganju shouted from where he had climbed up on the pedestal, and was promptly kicked in the face for being up there without her permission.

"This is no time to joke around!" Uryu shouted "I don't know what kind of technician you are but shooting us with that thing is impossible! We'll die for sure!" before he could complain any further Kukaku had tossed a large crystal like sphere that smashed into his head and bounced into Ichigo's hands.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a Reisyukaku(Spirit Core). Hold on to it and give it your reiatsu." Kukaku stated.

"How do I do that?" Ichigo asked.

"Just focus your power in your palm like when you're using Kido." Kukaku replied as she demonstrated.

" _Like casting a spell Ichigo." Cloud reminded him._

" _Oh."_

Before Youichi could explain that Ichigo didn't know anything about Kido Ichigo started pouring his reiatsu into the sphere. The reaction wasn't instantaneous but when it did happen it shook the entire platform and knocked almost everyone over as the sphere formed around him.

"That was excessive." Kukaku remarked with a snort.

"Well he hasn't been trained like other shinigami so be thankful he made it that far on his own." Youichi remarked.

"So what is this sphere?" Ichigo asked as he panted a bit.

"This is the cannonball." Kukaku stated "Listen up. If you think that the wall around the city is the only defense then you are dead wrong. The wall is made of a special mineral that completely blocks out all spiritual energy. If you don't make a hole in the wall you can't get in. More importantly this mineral releases a special energy wave from the cut surfaces. In other words both above and under the ground the city is protected by a sphere shaped protection field. Therefore if we just fly in bluntly our body made out of spiritrons will be turned to dust. That's why we need this." Kukaku paused as she tapped on Ichigo's barrier.

"Hurry it up." Ichigo growled out as he was starting to sweat from the exertion of pouring his reiatsu into the barrier.

"Quit your complaining." Kukaku chided "My invention there creates a specially hardened spiritron shell. By providing spiritual energy to the core, you can create a cannonball that can break through the protection field. I will then use the Kukaku Cannon to fire you up and break you in with one clear strike. This may sound a little ridiculous but there is no other way. That's all for now? Any questions?"

"Can I stop?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah sure." Kukaku replied with a shrug as Ichigo let go of the Reisyukaku and the barrier dropped with Ichigo letting out a sigh of relief.

"Ok meetings over. To the training room you go." Kukaku said as she had the two giant helpers grab everyone up and taking them down to the training room to work on using the Reisyukaku.

* * *

While Chad, Uryu and Inoue worked on making their cannonballs Ichigo took the time to sit with Cloud Strife and meditate. The Zanpakuto had told him that once he was ready that he was going to teach him how to use some more advanced skills then just his spells and now was the perfect time to start studying. It took a few moments for Cloud to explain to him how to relax enough to enter his world but once Ichigo got it he was once again standing in the desert with the iron gray clouds floating over head and Cloud Strife standing there waiting for him.

"Are you ready?" the blond man asked as a buster sword appeared in his hand identical to the one in Ichigo's.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded.

"What I am going to teach you will help you turn the tides of a bad fight but don't become reliant on these techniques. They are only as good as the person using them and we are just as mortal as any other enemy." Cloud warned "But first let's see if you are ready for them."

"Right." Ichigo nodded as he and Cloud squared off. Cloud made the first move, crossing the distance between them in a flash as his blade came crashing down as Ichigo turned the slash aside and launched a kick of his own into Cloud's stomach and began his own attack, with the Zanpakuto blocking each strike with ease.

"Good. You are relentless in attacking, but form is important as well." Cloud chuckled as thrust the tip of buster sword into one of the two gaps in Ichigo's and with a flick of his wrist sent the blade flying into the air "You must be aware of your own weapon's weaknesses."

"What?" Ichigo blinked.

"I am not some ultimate weapon that can't be stopped." Cloud chuckled "I am not vain enough to even say that they are so small as to be negligible. That does not mean that you can't turn a disadvantage into an advantage."

"How?" Ichigo frowned as he picked up his blade.

"The holes. They are a design flaw in some ways as a clever enemy will use those to disarm you like I did. However you can use them to your advantage as well and counter an enemies strikes by letting them go for those targets and disarming them in turn. What other flaws can you think of in my design?" Cloud prompted. Ichigo frowned as he thought a moment before he came up with something.

"The size."

"Exactly. The larger the weapon the harder that it is for you to fight in an enclosed environment. That doesn't mean that you are defenseless but with the size of this sword being the way it is you will fare better in less confined spaces."

"But I won't always be able to fight outdoors or in open areas."

"Exactly. You must tailor your combat style to your environment. Alter your tactics to suit your environment. Your spells will be of much greater use in a confined area where your enemy can't dodge as well either."

"Turning a disadvantage into an advantage." Ichigo nodded.

"Exactly. Now for the first of those special techniques I promised you." Cloud nodded "The technique is called Braver. It's simple to learn and use but the power behind it can be startling."

Leaping into the air the blade glinted as Cloud brought the blade slamming back down delivering a powerful slash that caused the ground to shake since he wasn't aiming at Ichigo.

"Whoa." Ichigo blinked in shock "That's it?"

"Simple is best." Cloud chuckled "The trick is that the enemy will just think that it is a basic slash. The truth behind it is that the power is amplified by your reiatsu to deal more damage to an enemy. This will likely break the guard of any unsuspecting enemy. Now try it."

Ichigo nodded as he focused and attempted the Braver technique. Leaping into the air he brought the blade down into the slash but nothing seemed to happen.

"What the hell?"

"Focus Ichigo. Pour your reiatsu into the blade as you do this." Cloud chided. Again Ichigo tried and again he failed. He kept attempting this until on his twentieth try he felt the ground shake as he came crashing down with the slash.

"Good. Remember that feeling Ichigo. It may save your life one day soon." Cloud chuckled "Now go and eat. You are as ready as we can be for now."

With that Ichigo exited his inner world and saw that the others were stopping as well to go and eat. Once finished and told to rest as they would be up before dawn in order to have the best chance of breaking in with minimal resistance. When morning arrived Ichigo and the others stopped outside of the giant cannon where Ichigo noted that the only person missing was Ganju.

"Where's Ganju?"

"Not sure." Kukaku shrugged.

"Hold on a minute!" Ganju shouted as he had apparently run to the surface, and having changed his clothing "The heroes... are always a little late."

"What are you wearing?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"This is my special Battle Suit! Cool huh? No matter how much you beg I won't let you try it, sucker."

"What the hell do you need a battle suit for? Aren't you just here to see us off?" Ichigo countered. There was a moment of silence before Ganju stormed over to Ichigo with a glare on his face as he tried to glare down the orange haired shinigami before speaking.

"My Oni-san was killed in cold blood by a shinigami." he stated causing Ichigo and the others to blink in shock.

"Ganju! Shut" Kukaku began.

"Sis don't interrupt me! Just listen!" Ganju shouted back, getting the older woman to stop in surprise "My Oni-san was a genius. He passed the entrance exam for the Shinigami Academy in one try. His reiatsu was level 6, on par with the vice captains of the Gotei 13. Then he finished the six years worth of curriculum in just two years and became an official shinigami. Five years after that he became a vice captain. But then he was killed! Betrayed by his Shinigami partner! I was young and I don't know all the details, but there are two things that I will never forget! The cold eyes of the shinigami that brought my brother my dying big brother back, and that smiling face the shinigami made when thanking my big brother. I don't know why but not once did my brother speak out in hatred against the Shinigami! I want to know the reason why he never hated Shinigami! The reason why he believed in Shinigami even in death!" Ganju paused as he grabbed Ichigo's shoulder and pulled him forward a bit to make eye contact with him "You are different from the other Shinigami! I can feel it! If I go with you I know I will uncover the reasons. So I will lend you a hand on this one! I will see with my own eyes what Shinigami are like!"

Inoue looked stunned as Chad and Uryu watched, while Ganju's underlings were weeping along with the two giant twins at the sight of Ganju's resolve.

"It seems like you've made up your mind. Just don't run away mid-way brat!" Kukaku grinned "If you want to do it, give it everything you got!"

"Yeah!" Ganju shouted as Ichigo knocked away the arm that was still holding him as he pulled Ganju towards him this time.

"Welcome aboard." Ichigo stated before releasing Ganju. The small group was then walking towards the cannon when Ichigo realized that he didn't know if Youichi could use the Reisyukaku.

" _I doubt that Youichi would suggest this path if he couldn't use it himself." Cloud noted._

" _Good point." Ichigo conceded after a moment of thought._

With that they walked up where Kukaku slammed her fist against the side of the cannon where in a spiral pattern an opening appeared and she ordered them inside so she could begin. Once inside the five humans each placed a hand onto the Resyukaku with Youichi standing on top of it when the cat spoke up about what they were going to do.

"Everyone listen up. Don't wander off by yourselves after we get in. If you encounter a Captain Class enemy run! Our objective is to rescue Rukia, that's all. Do not take any unnecessary risks!"

The group nodded as they heard Kukaku begin her chant.

"There! The red bronze desire demands 36 degrees of adjustment!"

"It has begun! Install your energy!" Youichi shouted sa the group began forming the cannonball.

"72 pair of shade! 13 pairs of whistle! The ape's right hand grabs the star!" Kukaku shouted "Embracing 25 suns, the cradle of sand is bleeding. Kukaku Style Version 2! Kakizaki!"

With the final shout the cannon fired sending the group flying straight up into the air. Looking down Ichigo noted that they were indeed high but hadn't felt any impact.

"The impact wasn't as bad as I thought." Ichigo noted.

"Idiot." Ganju smirked "It has just begun."

Before anyone could ask what Ganju had meant by that they had reached the peak of their launch and then defied physics as they shot off at a ninety degree angle towards the Seireitei. As they continued at their extreme speed Ganju pulled out a tied up parchment that he opened and began explaining what was about to happen.

"This is the follow up incantation! The version 2 has a two part incantation, the "Initial Incantation" decides on the direction with the follow up incantation maintaining the speed and stability! This way we land right on target! Next to pass through the barrier the cannonball must be kept stable! Thus everyone must achieve a balance in energy discharge! However I have to read the incantation so I won't be able to focus on my emission. Therefore I need everyone to compensate for me. You should be able to detect any change in my emission through the orb so adjust accordingly. If we mess up we're screwed, please be careful!" Ganju paused there as the group nodded their consent on the matter as he then began reading the follow up incantation. It soon became apparent that Ichigo couldn't lower his reiatsu enough as everyone with the exception of the chanting Ganju and Youichi told him to lower his reiatsu.

" _Cloud, a little help!" Ichigo mentally shouted._

" _I can't do anything more then what I am." Cloud countered "We need a new plan and fast."_

That was of course when Ganju was distracted by Ichigo's inability to lower his reiatsu and misread a part of the incantation.

"Damn you! I read the same line twice!"

"Why are you yelling at me for?" Ichigo snapped back.

"You kept yapping and I lost my concentration!"

"Calm down Kurosaki-kun, Ganju-kun!" Inoue exclaimed.

"Yeah, stop that!" Uryu agreed.

"Hey..." Chad said just loud enough to be heard as he was looking over his shoulder in the direction they were heading "Look outside."

The group turned and did indeed see that they were only moments away from the Seireitei, with no time to fix their error.

"We're going to crash!" Uryu shouted.

"It's unavoidable. Everyone emit as much reiatsu as you can!" Youichi shouted "Make the cannonball as hard as possible!"

"Let's do it!" Ichigo said as he felt Cloud release the hold that he had on his excess reiatsu right as they crashed into the barrier. As the cannonball hit it managed to get them past the barrier but lingered enough where the six of them were still hanging in midair.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked "Seems like we passed the shield but why aren't we dropping down?"

"Everybody don't separate!" Youichi shouted getting their attention "The shield was melted by the high concentration of reiko, this is just holding us temporarily! Soon a tornado will begin! If we separate then we will be sent flying in different directions!"

No sooner had the warning past the cat's lips then the tornado started to form around them and pulling them away from each other. They were soon separated far enough away that Youichi told them to grab the person nearest them and hang on for dear life, leading to Ichigo grabbing Ganju and Youichi landing on Ichigo's shoulder while Chad grabbed Inoue. As the larger teen reached to grab Uryu the Quincy was pulled just out of reach and forcing Chad to act. Sending Inoue back a ways as he launched himself towards Uryu just as he was exiting the remains of their cannonball. Grabbing hold of him Chad threw Uryu back into the tornado before being launched away himself towards the ground.

"Chad!" Ichigo roared.

"Don't worry! He'll find a way to survive!" Youichi said over the roar of the wind "Don't mind it! If you want to find him you have to worry about yourself first!"

" _She's right!" Cloud shouted "Survival first. We will find Chad later but we can't do that if we wind up dead first! Now grab your remaining friends and pray to survive because I don't know any skills that will let you fly!"_

"Inoue!"

"Kurosaki!"

The two shouted as they reached for each other, coming so close to grasping each other's out stretched hand when the tornado ended an sent them flying in opposite directions of each other as even Youichi was ripped off of Ichigo's shoulder and sent flying. As Ichigo and Ganju were heading for the unforgiving ground Ichigo racked his brain for a way to mitigate the damage when Ganju moved in front of him and made a strange hand sign before speaking.

"Turn into sand! Sebba!" Ganju shouted as he used some strange form of magic to turn a large circular area into a giant sandpit that had cushioned their impact.

" _Impressive. He has his uses after all." Cloud chuckled._

" _No kidding. I should thank him I guess." Ichigo sighed._

" _A wise choice since it is just the two of you." Cloud agreed._

"Well your weird magic saved us." Ichigo began as Ganju was couching up sand that had gotten into his mouth and did so for several moments "Thanks Gan..." pausing to see if the fit was over Ichigo got impatient and slammed a foot into Ganju's back ending the fit "This was your own magic, how long are you gonna cough for?"

"Punk! How can you kick your own savior?!" Ganju shouted in anger.

"I didn't kick you, that was a modern way of saying thank you!" Ichigo countered.

"What? Is that so?" Ganju asked in shock.

" _That is the worst lie I have ever heard Ichigo, and I have heard some pretty outlandish ones." Cloud sighed._

Before the zanpakuto could remark further, or Ichigo question the remark footsteps drew his attention. From the rooftop directly behind Ichigo two people stood with one talking as he and his partner leapt down to the street.

"Yoho! So lucky!" the man laughed as landed "I originally thought standing guard was too troublesome so I wandered off, but here's the prey right in front of me. Lucky! Today is my lucky day!"

Turning Ichigo looked at the man holding his sheathed katana pointed at him. A shaved head and a battle ready grin met Ichigo's gaze as his partner stood behind him and to his left.

"As for you, you are very unlucky!" the man finished with his grin still in place.

" _Well it seems we are out of the frying pan and into the fire." Cloud noted._

Ichigo responded to both men the same way with a scowl "Hah?"


	5. Chapter 5

_AN* OK, first off let me warn you that this is not an overly long chapter, but more showing how Ichigo and Cloud work during a fight against someone more on their level. Also to the anonymous reviewer who commented about using Cloud's name, what else would it be? I know it doesn't fit perfectly but names have power in their own right and if the zanpakuto was named something else it would essentially be changing Cloud's name and that to me is just wrong. Ok, anyways please enjoy the latest chapter and leave me a review at the end._

 **Luck Men**

The sight that greeted Ichigo and Ganju was one that puzzled them as the man with the sheathed katana was doing some kind of weird dance back and forth. The pair were so confused by this that when he stopped with a shouted "Tada!" neither one had moved an inch.

"What are you two still doing in there?!" he shouted pointing his sheathed blade at them "I did the tsuki-tsuki dance to give you some time to climb out of there but all you did was stare! What ungrateful bastards!"

"What's up with him?" Ichigo scowled.

" _He is rather odd. Though he is definitely stronger then your average enemy." Cloud noted with mild interest._

"Hey." Ganju muttered, trying to get Ichigo's attention.

"What?"

"What do you mean "What?". Let's hurry up and get out of here!" Ganju whispered.

"Run away?! This is not the time for your usual stupidity!" Ichigo hissed.

"You're the idiot!" Ganju hissed back "Their reiatsu is much higher then your normal shinigami!"

"What are you arguing about?" The bald man asked as he crouched down next to the sand pit "Oh well, go ahead an argue. Nothing can change your upcoming demise anyways."

"But if we keep waiting someone might come and steal our kill." the second shinigami remarked.

"Ah? That makes sense." the first one nodded "Okay! I'll give you a limited amount of time to argue! You have until I finish this next dance"

"I don't care! I'm running! If you want to fight do it alone!" Ganju shouted as he leapt out of the sand pit and took off at a sprint away from the two shinigami.

"What was that? You two breaking up?" the first one asked.

"More or less." Ichigo grumbled as he started to pull himself out of the sand pit.

"Chih... How troublesome." the first one grumbled "Yumichika!"

"Affirmative." the now identified Yumichika said as he took off after the fleeing Ganju. As the two soon were out of sight Ichigo managed to pull himself back up to the street, keeping his front towards the remaining shinigami.

"Hey!" he called out getting Ichigo's attention "I have a question. Why didn't you run? That guy probably noticed that we are stronger, so he ran off. Which I thought was a smart decision."

"If you are stronger then me, what would have been the point of running away? You would have just caught up to me anyways." Ichigo replied as he slowly gripped the hilt of his sword "But if you're weaker then me I can simply kick you ass and move forward promptly. That's what I thought."

"I see." the man said with a violent grin "You're not so dumb after all." And in that split second he moved, drawing his blade and bringing it down towards Ichigo in a swift downward slash. Ichigo wasn't caught entirely off guard though as he moved back a few feet and brought Cloud Strife down in a powerful slash of his own, that the enemy shinigami blocked by using his sheathe to block it by bringing it up against the guard. Realizing that his blade hand was still free Ichigo used that moment to lift himself higher and jump off of the sheath so he was in the air above the shinigami who was already bringing his blade up toward Ichigo as he in turn brought Cloud down towards him. The two blows landed as they moved back a short distance, both with wounds on their faces above one eye each.

"One question, what's your name?" the shinigami asked.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Ichigo is it? That's a good name."

"Yeah? You're the first one to ever say that."

"Ah, men with the I at the start of their names are often powerful and talented. I am the third seat of the 11th company Madarame Ikkaku. Since both our names start with I let's make this a great fight."

"Whatever." Ichigo replied as the blood started to fall over his eye.

" _Ichigo, you need to treat that wound." Cloud remarked._

" _It's not that bad, just a little irritating."_

" _Blood in your eyes lessens your vision and an enemy of this caliber will exploit such an opening." Cloud countered "Heal it now while you have your staredown."_

Lifting his hand so that his fingers were just touching the wound and his arm was blocking his mouth Ichigo muttered Cure and then lowered his grip, the wound closed.

"Interesting trick." Ikkaku noted "That wasn't kido, so your zanpakuto likely lets you heal your own wounds. Though removing a hand from your sword is a pretty risky move."

"It's none of your concern, but I wouldn't be able to see with blood in my eyes."

"Forehead wounds always bleed a lot even if they are shallow. So you need to find a way to stop the bleeding." Ikkaku agreed as he had pulled off a cap at the end of the hilt of his zanpakuto to reveal that it was a compartment with some kind of mixture that he put over the wound on his own forehead.

" _Clever indeed." Cloud hummed "He is a worthy foe."_

"Hm, you're a weird one though. I can't tell if you're a real warrior or not. Your words seem to be like that of a rookie but your reactions are fast, your attacks are strong, and for your body movements... You could say it's very close to mine." Ikkaku noted until Ichigo made a slightly displeased noise "Why are you so serious? I'm complimenting you. But it seems you're just a rookie that likes to fight. Saying you're using your instincts seems to be praising you too much. Who is your teacher?"

"Other then my zanpakuto teaching me it's secrets, he only taught me for ten days. I don't know if that's enough to be considered a teacher, though he did teach me fighting tactics."

"Who is he?" Ikkaku asked, seeming to be genuinely curious.

"Urahara Kisuke."

Ikkaku's reaction was that of shock as he seemed to start getting very serious as his stance shifted ever so slightly so that he was even more at the ready to strike.

"I see, so he is your teacher. That means, it would be very rude of me to kill you too easily." Bringing the pommel of his zanpakuto against the sheath he spoke in a deadly calm voice "Grow, Hōzukimaru(Demon Light)!" Pulling his hands away from the center the two parts transformed into a single whole and becoming what appeared to be a spear as the blade buried it's tip into the tiles while above Ikkaku's head the red tassle blew.

" _A spear... That could prove challenging for you Ichigo. Be careful." Cloud warned._

"You don't have time to be surprised Ichigo! Here I come!" Ikkaku shouted as he pulled the tip forward in a burst of tile shards toward Ichigo "Don't miss it!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?!" Ichigo shouted as he lifted Cloud Strife up to block the spear, letting it go past his right side as he prepared to launch a counter. That was when Ikkaku showed his skill as he spun his weapon in a half arc that brought the tassled end up against Ichigo who used Cloud to block more of the blows while he searched for the gap.

"I know that it takes longer to attack with a spear then it does with a sword. There's no way I'll miss it." Ichigo stated as he blocked another strike.

"You're wrong." Ikkaku said in a deadly calm voice as he swung again from the left this time, forcing Ichigo to block the strike using his right hand to support the flat of the blade.

"Split Hōzukimaru!" Ikkaku shouted as his Zanpakuto suddenly broke into three pieces connected by chain with the blade now on his right hand side, and slicing into his arm as Ikkaku pulled his weapon back "When I said don't miss it I was referring to that. Hōzukimaru isn't a spear, it's a satsetsukon."

" _Troubling indeed." Cloud grumbled._

" _Any tips for that thing?"_

" _You have all that you need to beat him Ichigo. Don't let up." Cloud smirked as he fell silent._

"Cure." Ichigo muttered as Ikkaku continued talking about how he would normally try and take him in alive but given the circumstances he was going to have to kill Ichigo "Done."

"What?" Ikkaku blinked as Ichigo leapt at him swinging Cloud Strife down in a deadly slash that forced Ikkaku to leap to the side to avoid it as Ichigo destroyed a wall that he had been standing in front of.

"It seemed like you had finished talking, but you don't know anything about Cloud Strife." Ichigo stated as he stared down Ikkaku "This has only just begun. Next time it will be you who can't hold your weapon."

"So arrogant, punk." Ikkaku grinned as he chuckled "I won't be able to hold my weapon soon? You sure talk big Ichigo. But I don't see where such confidence comes from!"

Lunging forward he stabbed at Ichigo with the bladed end of his weapon and Ichigo blocked the stab with ease as his eyes were already noting where each piece was. And like he predicted Ikkaku had the tassled piece in his hand and was preparing to slam it into Ichigo's face. Raising his right hand Ichigo blocked the strike and gripped the end as hard as he could, letting Ikkaku go past him as he pulled at it and knocking him off balance for a moment as Ichigo swung Cloud Strife up towards Ikkaku who dodged the initial slash and then blocked the downward followup Ichigo tried using the chained part connecting the bladed end and the middle piece. As Hōzukimaru reconnected those two pieces Ikkaku swung the third piece towards Ichigo again, forcing him to leap backward with it and again grabbed the end in an iron grip and yanking away the tassle.

"So is bluffing all you can do?" Ikkaku asked as he spun the end of Hōzukimaru around "Hōzukimaru's form is ever changing. A rookie like you can't possibly keep up."

"You're wrong." Ichigo chuckled as he opened his left hand to show the tassle that he had ripped off "I'm already starting to get used to it."

Ikkaku stopped spinning the piece long enough to see that Ichigo had indeed ripped the tassle off and had done some damage to the end of his weapon, much to his shock.

"I already told you. Next time it will be you who can't hold your weapon!" Ichigo shouted as he leapt into the air "Braver!"

The feeling was the same as the edge of Cloud Strife glinted with a light all it's own and the reiatsu amplified the power of the soon to be delivered strike. Ikkaku had reacted quickly, bringing Hōzukimaru up in a guard that would normally have stopped the blade but with the power behind the technique he might as well as held up a sheet of tissue paper. The wound was deep enough where it was more impressive that Ikkaku was still standing as blood poured from it and he still defiantly gripped his broken weapon.

"How's this? Do you give up yet?" Ikkaku asked as he tossed away the small severed part of the end of Hōzukimaru "Too bad for you... I can... still hold my weapon!" Raising his right hand above his head while spinning the weapon, his left still gripping the tiny pit that remained from his severed lower section, he began spinning the weapon intent on continuing the fight "The only way I will ever... lose my grip on Hōzukimaru is by losing my hands!"

"Put it away." Ichigo stated as he stared down Ikkaku.

"NO!"

"I said put it away! We're done! You know you've lost!" Ichiog shouted.

"What are you talking about? We're still fighting! One of us will die before this is over!" Ikkaku shouted back "I, Madarame Ikkaku, third seat of the eleventh company, will never walk away from a fight like a coward!" With that final shout he lunged forward, his weapon weaving back and forth as he did.

" _He is too proud for his own good." Cloud remarked "Finish him quickly."_

"Too slow!" Ichigo shouted as he brough Cloud up in a rising slash that destroyed the rest of Hōzukimaru and slashed through Ikkaku's right arm, leaving a deep and long gash.

"Damn... You're... too strong..." Ikkaku remarked as he collapsed onto his hands and knees "Che- Touch luck." And with that he collapsed onto the tiled ground.

"Idiot." Ichigo sighed as he stared at Ikkaku.

" _Ichigo. We need information. We have no idea where Rukia is being held or what kind of defenses they may have there. We need him alive."_

" _Should I heal him?" Ichigo asked._

" _No..." Cloud said after a moment "At least not using your cure spell. You used a fair amount of your reiatsu during that fight. We may encounter more opposition before we can fully rest and recover. It looks like his zanpakuto has shifted back into it's sealed state. Use that mixture that was in the hilt to treat his wounds. He doesn't need to be in fighting shape but he does need to be able to survive long enough to question him."_

Ichigo nodded as he started treating Ikkaku's wounds using the salve that was in the hilt and noting that it was going to use almost if not all of it to seal closed the two deep wounds. It took some time but once finished Ichigo sat down on a piece of rubble and made sure that Hōzukimaru was out of reach of Ikkaku in case he was too lively when he woke up. It was lucky for Ichigo that he didn't have to wait for too long as Ikkaku woke up and was confused as to why he was still alive.

"You awake?" Ichigo asked as Ikkaku looked at him with wide eyes "Yo."

"Ichigo you idiot! What are you still doing here?!" Ikkaku shouted.

"First off was treating your wounds." Ichigo replied as he showed him Hōzukimaru back in it's sealed state "It took almost all of the medicine to close your wounds and it doesn't seem to be working too well."

"Damn you! What are you trying to do?!" Ikkaku shouted.

"Other then saving your life?" Ichigo asked "Cloud Strife thought it would be best to ask you a question before we left."

"Your zanpakuto wants to ask me a question?" Ikkaku blinked in shock.

"Yeah, and I agreed with him on the matter."

"Tch. Such bad luck. Well what do you want to know? My Birthday?" Ikkaku asked with a slight sneer.

"Where's Kuchiki Rukia?"

"Kuchiki? That girl on death row?! Why do you want to know?!"

"I'm here to rescue her."

"R... Rescue her? How many of you are here?! Seven, maybe eight?!" Ikkaku asked in shock.

"Five people and a cat." Ichigo replied.

"A cat?! You really think you can rescue her with five people?!"

"Yeah."

" _I do hope you realize that saying five people and a cat does sound rather odd." Cloud noted "I can understand his exasperation."_

" _Maybe, but he doesn't have to laugh so hard." Ichigo replied as Ikkaku laughed os hard he opened the wound in his chest a bit._

"In any case..." Ikkaku began as he put a bit of pressure on the wound and caught his breath "Head south from here and you'll see the main offices of the thirteen divisions. Just west of those offices is a white tower. She's probably in there."

"R... Really?!" Ichigo asked, half expecting to have to force it out of Ikkaku.

"You don't believe me?!" Ikkaku shouted in outrage before calming down "I don't care what your real intentions are, but if you want to go there then go ahead. Also if you stay here much longer then someone will come. So if you want to go, go now!"

"Alright. I'll repay you later Ikkaku." Ichigo stated as he started to leave.

"Don't repay me! Dammit!" Ikkaku swore before he got quiet for a moment before speaking again "Hold on a second! I have a question for you." Ichigo stopped to look back at Ikkaku and the man continued "Who is the strongest in your group? Is it you?"

"... More or less." Ichigo stated not sure how he compared against Youichi.

"Is that so..." Ikkaku trailed off "You better watch out for my captain. He has no interest in the weak. If what you say is true he will definitely seek you out."

"Is he strong?" Ichigo asked with a slight frown.

"You'll know when you see him." Ikkaku answered "Actually you'll know how strong he is if you survive the meeting."

"What's his name?"

"Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the eleventh division."

"What about the guy that went after Ganju?" Ichigo asked.

"Yumichika? He's the fifth strongest in the division." Ikkaku replied "So your friend might still be alive if he was fast enough."

Nodding Ichigo took off at a run, intent on finding Ganju and then from there head south to find Rukia.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN* Hello to all of you once again. I know that this took awhile to get written and I do apologize for that, but it took a few tries to get this chapter right. Now, enjoy the newest chapter and let me know what you think._

 **Honing The Edge**

Ichigo ran through the streets, heading in the same direction that Ganju and his opponent had run off in, but so far hadn't seen any sign of the man.

" _Be patient. Ganju won't die that easily." Cloud remarked._

" _How do you know?" Ichigo frowned._

" _His eyes. He has the eyes of a man that is determined to live, to find his answer. He won't fall too easily, not without it being obvious as to where he is." Cloud explained "Just keep moving and don't draw any unneeded attention to yourself. We are being hunted as well."_

Ichigo nodded as he kept moving, turning at one street and stopping as a patrol of shinigami stopped when they saw him.

"Shit." Ichigo cursed as he turned and started to run, the group beginning to chase him with their own weapons drawn "Dammit Ganju!"

Ichigo ran for a few moments before deciding that running would only attract more enemies as he turned on his heel and slammed the Cloud into the first pursuer, sending him flying backwards as Ichigo blocked the slash the next one tried to make as he raised his hand towards the third.

"Fire." Ichigo said as he sent the fireball into his face with a scream of pain. Moving ot the side Ichigo let the deadlock end and the man fall to the ground where Ichigo slammed Cloud into his side, knocking him to the ground and letting him raise a hand towards the first man that was on his feet again and rushing him "Ice." This time icicles shot out of his hand and the man shouted in surprise and fear as they impaled him, pinning him to the ground though none of the wounds were fatal. The fourth man looked absolutely terrified at this point as Ichigo contemplated letting him run, right until the man seemed to find his spine and charged at him.

"Bolt." Ichigo sighed as he sent the electricity flying into the man and left him spasming on the ground. Glancing around to see if there were any more shinigami heading for him he saw a massive firework going off a short distance away and grinned.

" _And see, there he is." Cloud chuckled._

Taking off at a run Ichigo worked his way towards the firework, and realized quickly that he wasn't the only one doing so as he ran into another patrol, and as he ran, more shinigami joined the group until it was a small horde. Turning around a corner at a dead run Ichigo saw Ganju heading his way with a horde of his own.

"Oh, there you are. Hey Ganju." Ichigo called out as he waved him down to get his attention.

"You idiot! Quit waving!" Ganju shouted.

"Duck!" Ichigo shouted as he leapt over Ganju, planting a foot into the face of the first of Ganju's pursuers while Ganju slammed a fist into the face of the first of Ichigo's. Landing Ichigo drew Cloud Strife off of his back and swung the weapon in a wide arc to knock back a few more enemies as he and Ganju went back to back.

"Now we're both dead." Ganju complained.

"Not yet." Ichigo remarked as he put a hand on Ganju's back "Cure."

"What?" Ganju blinked as he felt his wounds healing.

"That should stop you from bleeding out." Ichigo replied as he grinned "And once we get rid of these guys I know where we need to go."

Before they could start to fight there seemed to a commotion and from the ranks of the shinigami one made his way through the crowd and fell to the ground in front of the two.

"Hey Ichigo, I think I have an idea on how to get us out of here." Ganju grinned.

"You too, let's do it then." Ichigo replied.

" _If you take him hostage I won't teach you any more techniques." Cloud warned._

" _What?!"_

" _We are here as rescuers, not as barbarians, raping and pillaging as we go." Cloud chided Ichigo "These are low level shinigami, much weaker then Ikkaku. Crush them with your own strength and hone your own powers."_

As Ganju started to grab the nervous looking shinigami Ichigo shook his head.

"Forget the idea Ganju. Cloud just yelled at me about it." he grumbled.

"What?! This is the best way out!" he roared.

"For what he is threatening to withhold it isn't worth it." Ichigo replied "We just fight our way out."

As Ichigo readied himself to strike there was a massive explosion that took out the enemies on the side that the shinigami had fallen from, leading ot Ichigo to turn on and attack the other side, sending the first few flying backwards with the strength of his blows as he readied more spells.

"Fire. Ice. Bolt." Ichigo listed off in rapid fire, sending the elemental spells flying as he did and knocking back more and more enemies as he took them down before they had a chance to fight back. Pushing through the crowd of shinigami Ichigo slowed a bit as he felt something building up and heard Cloud chuckling.

" _Why are you laughing?"_

" _This is why I wanted you to fight." Cloud explained "The more power you put into the spells I taught you, the more you use them and defeat our foes with them the faster your powers will grow. You're about to see a mid level spell in action."_

" _Mid level?" Ichigo blinked_

" _Fire 2."_

As Cloud said that the Fire spell that Ichigo had been about to launch grew in size and power, blasting into the enemy with much more devastating force and sending the last bit of resistance flying away as Ichigo blinked before running with Ganju right behind him, still carrying the nervous looking shinigami that they had planned on taking hostage. They ran a few blocks before opening a door to a storage area where they stopped to catch their breath, and both realized that they had brought the shinigami with them.

"My name is Yamada Hanataro." the shinigami said after a few moments.

"That's hard to remember." Ichigo and Ganju said at the same time.

"Really? But... But everyone always says my name is easy to remember." Hanataro said in shock.

"It's understandable if it's Taro or Hanako, but Hanataro is way too weird." Ichigo replied.

"Aren't you our enemy? Why are you introducing yourself to us?" Ganju asked.

"... That's true." Hanataro admitted.

"Why did you bring him with us?!" Ichigo snapped at Ganju.

"It was an accident!" Ganjut snapped back as he took out a piece of paper and quickly made a crude map, based off of what Ichigo told him about Ikkaku's information "Any how, we know that Rukia is in the "White Tower", but which road should we take to get there? I really don't want to run into any captains, too bad we don't know their locations."

"How can we decide which road to take where there aren't any roads on your map? Idiot." Ichigo remarked.

" _You have a very good point there. He should stick to making fireworks and riding boars instead of drawing." Cloud agreed._

"Rukia?" Hanataro asked.

"Be quiet! We're strategizing, don't interrupt!" Ichigo said with a glare.

"Yeah, you can leave now. You're of no use to us." Ganju added.

"When you said Rukia... Do you mean Kuchiki Rukia?" Hanataro continued getting Ichigo to look at him shocked "I see, so I was right. Captain Kuchiki's sister is being held for a capital crime. So then, the "white tower" is Senzaikyuu. Then... I know of a shortcut to the tower."

"Then show us." Ichigo said. Hanataro nodded as he stood up and led them outside to a tile that he lift up, revealing a metal ladder that led down into the sewers, a system that they hadn't known existed. Climbing down quickly the two followed after Hanataro as he led them towards Senzaikyuu.

"I never would have guessed that the shortcut would be through the sewers." Ganju remarked as they walked.

"Yes, the sewers cover the entire city. You can go practically anywhere in the city through the sewers." Hanataro nodded.

"Do they know about the sewers too?" Ganju asked.

"Yes, though I doubt that they will follow us down here. The only ones who know how to navigate the complex sewer system are the paramedic specialists of the 4th division." Hanataro explained.

"So this doubles as a supply/medic route, so only you guys need to know it well." Ganju nodded as Hanataro started to chuckle awkwardly.

"That's not it... Cleaning the sewers just happens to be part of the 4th division's job. We are weak so we wind up doing all the chores."

"I think I actually pity you guys." Ganju said in shock as Hanataro tried to say that is wasn't that big of a deal.

"Hanataro, why are you so willing to help us? We are your enemies, so why are you so willing to take us to the "White Tower" without any questions?" Ichigo asked, a worry that had been bothering him.

"Actually" Hanataro began after a few moments of silence "I've learned a lot from Rukia-san about you, Kurosaki Ichigo-san. And I sincerely hope that you will save Rukia-san." He paused again as they sat down in a small alcove before continuing his story "Before Rukia-san was transferred to the Senzaikyuu she was in the holding cell of the 6th division office. During that time I was assigned to janitorial duty there. At first I was a little scared since she was a noble after all. But..."

"But?" Ganju prompted.

"When I called her Rukia-sama for the first time she scolded me for it. Then she said "Please don't address me as sama."." Hanataro smiled "Her voice was a lot softer then I could ever imagine. It made me feel at ease. Then I started going there every day and I started to enjoy my time there. Rukia-san also started to converse with me." He paused as he glanced over at Ichigo "She talked mostly about you, Kurosaki-san. She said that even though she only knew you for 2 months she has unbelievably high faith in you. Also because of her, your life changed forever and you suffered a lot of pain, so she can never make it up to you, no matter what she does. During the time I've seen her, her face was always gloomy and sad..."

"It seem that she is another weird shinigami, just like you." Ganju noted.

"Yes. She is weird." Ichigo nodded as he started to stand up "That's why I have to save her."

" _She believes she carries a burden that can never be removed. She truly thinks this is all her fault." Cloud sighed "She doesn't realize that a person often embodies the traits of those who's backs they watch."_

" _What?" Ichigo blinked._

" _The way you go about your duties as a Shinigami, and the way you try to shoulder the burden of everything on your own. You learned how to be a Shinigami by watching Rukia, and her mentality has been reflected onto you." Cloud explained "We often become more like those we hold in high regard, trying to emulate them in our own ways."_

" _I'm not trying to copy her!"_

" _Perhaps not. But the similarity is there, and there is no shame in it." Cloud chuckled "It's time we rescue the noblewoman."_

Ichigo chose not to reply as he focused more on making good time through the sewers, with Ganju and Hanataro keeping pace with him. It took some time to navigate the tunnels but after a couple hours they climbed up a ladder and Hanataro told them that it was all clear.

"There is no way to go directly under the tower, this is as close as I can take you." Hanataro explained as the two climbed out of the sewer, both of them thankful for the fresh air "Look, that's the Senzaikyuu." The Shinigami pointed ahead and revealed the large white palace towering over them.

"We're so close already." Ganju noted "It sure looks enormous. We'll probably have to fight our way to it from now on."

Ichigo frowned as he moved forward and then held up a hand to stop Ganju and Hanataro from following him.

"Someone's there." Ichigo said as he looked towards the stairs leading up to the massive structure. As a wave of smoke cleared the area there was indeed a Shinigami standing at the foot of the stairs facing them. Red hair tied back into a topknot and a pair of specially designed sunglasses over this eyes he lifted them up slowly as he spoke.

"Long time no see, remember my face?" he asked with a scowl.

"Abarai Renji." Ichigo growled out, a scowl to match on his.

"That's unexpected, you even remember my name." Renji noted with a sneer "You have a pretty good memory."

"Thanks for the compliment." Ichigo replied.

"Who... Who is this guy? Compared to the guys we met before he has a totally different pressure." Ganju asked in fear.

"Ahh.. Ahh... That... That person is... Abarai Renji, Vice-Captain of the 6th divison." Hanataro managed to stutter out.

"Vice-Captain!" Ganju exclaimed.

"I'm really surprised. I always thought you had been killed by Captain Kuchiki's attack." Renji said as he started walking closer, an action that Ichigo followed suit with despite Ganju trying to stop him "I don't know how you survived, but it's very impressive which is worth complimenting. However it's all over now." Renji said as he drew his blade "I've said this before, I will kill the one who stole Rukia's power. If you're still alive then Rukia's power can never be restored."

"Back then, didn't you take her away because you wanted to kill her?! What's the point of saying all of this now?!" Ichigo snapped back as he drew Cloud Strife off of his back "I must keep moving forward!"

"That will depend on if you can defeat me or not!" Renji countered as he held his ready stance "Come if you have the guts! Don't you like to risk your life?"

Ichigo brough Cloud down in a powerful swing that Renji met with his own blade and was surprised at the strength behind the blow as he was pushed back a bit as they both disengaged and then right back in again, this time Ichigo gaining the advantage and pushing Renji back to the rocky lower wall of the Senzaikyuu.

"Your question is what I'd like to ask." Ichigo snarled as he tried to push a little further and slice into Renji.

"Oi, Kurosaki Ichigo. Let me ask you, who do you plan on saving Rukia?"

"How to save her?" Ichigo frowned in confusion.

"Even if you defeat me, there are eleven Vice-Captains, and above them there's thirteen Captains. Unless you defeat all of us there is no way you can save Rukia. Are you sure you can do it?"

"Of course!" Ichigo roared "How many Vice-Captains, how many Captains, what the hell does it have to do with anything?! I'll fight them no matter what! If they try to stop me then I will defeat them!"

Renji was silent for a moment before his ire rose and he spoke "What is this? Where does your confidence come from? With only one or two life or death battles you think you can handle anything? Or is it that your zanpakuto is different? Can it be with this little improvement in strength you became this arrogant?"

Catching Ichigo off guard Renji sent Ichigo flying backwards into the air as his hand now moved to touch the bace of the blade "Roar, Zabimaru(Snake Tail)!" As the sword transformed into it's true form and extended towards Ichigo he moved Cloud to block it and realized that it wasn't enough to stop it as it started pushing him backwards and right through a wall.

"Seems like you thought you understood my abilities after just one fight." Renji remarked as he walked closer while Zabimaru retracted "So let me tell you, When Vice-Captains and higher Shinigami go to the living world, in order not to cause unnecessary disturbances to the souls in the living world, We try very hard to suppress our powers. Right now my power is five times stronger then when we last met! Doesn't matter how strong you are, it's close to impossible for you to beat me!"

"So what you're saying is that this is your real strength." Ichigo said as he stepped out of the hole, having used the moment when Renji was talking to heal the wounds he had gotten from being sent through the wall "To me, your attacks are completely ineffective!" he declared as he stepped out and faced Renji again "Thanks for the information. If there's eleven more guys like you then I think I should be able to handle them."

"You bastard." Renji sneered.

"Ama... Amazing. He's still standing after taking a hit from Zabimaru." Hanataro said in shock.

"Ichigo, you ok?" Ganju asked as Ichigo swayed a bit.

" _We need to be careful." Cloud warned "That blow might have caused a concussion. Cure heals wounds but a concussion is trickier and would require Cure 2 at least, a level you are not yet able to use."_

" _Great." Ichigo sighed "So don't let him hit me like that again."_

" _Just be careful."_

"Is it really ok to talk big in the beginning when you can't even stand straight after one hit?" Renji asked as he leapt into the air, bringing Zabimaru down in a powerful slash that stretched out more then thirty feet and smashed through the entire building that Ichigo had been knocked into "It's over!"

Ichigo hadn't been standing still as he moved to the side just enough to dodge the initial slash as he leapt back and onto another building, remembering what Uruhara had told him about fighting as he tried to find the pattern, knowing that Cloud was watching as well, looking for some bit of advice to turn the tide against this much more powerful foe. As Ichigo moved back Renji had swung his blade upward to slash through the edge of the building that Ichigo had leapt onto with Renji leaping up and bringing Zabimaru down again with Ichigo waiting, his hand glowing red.

"Fire 2." Ichigo snarled as he sent the fireball at Renji who blinked in surprise at the larger blast of fire the slammed into Zabimaru and knocked it back as Ichigo rushed in, ready to strike. Renji growled as he brought Zabimaru back to it's normal form and side stepped the attack, but realized that Ichigo hadn't stopped moving as he rolled forward to the damaged edge of the roof where his hand shot up as Zabimaru came crashing down on him.

"Barrier!" Ichigo shouted as he made the green tinted wall that Zabimaru slammed into again and again before it finally hit a third time and returned back to it's normal form.

" _Three." Cloud grinned "But he is fast. So now is the time to show him what you can do."_

" _Yeah. I think I've got it." Ichigo replied._

"You really are stupid." Renji said with a scowl as he stared down Ichigo "Do you really want to save Rukia that badly?"

"Idiot. I didn't say "I want to save her.", I said "I have to save her."." Ichigo countered, enraging Renji.

"Don't make me laugh!" Renji shouted in anger as he swung again, Zabimaru extending toward Ichigo.

" _One." Cloud counted._

"It's your fault that Rukia lost her powers. That's why her sentence is so heavy!" Renji continued as he swung again.

" _Two."_

"Don't you get it? It's all because of you that Rukia is going to die! What right do you have to say that you're going to save her?!" Renji roared as he swung the third time "Quit joking around!"

" _Now Ichigo." Cloud grinned "Put this howling beast in his place."_

"It's my fault that Rukia is going to die... I know that already!" Ichigo shouted as he dodged the third slash having used Renji's blind rage to avoid the attacks but only barely "That's why I have to save her! Haste!" With that shout a yellow glow enveloped Ichigo as time seemed to slow down around him as Zabimaru was already starting to return to it's normal state as he rushed in bring Cloud Strife up in a diagonal slash that Renji barely dodged, leaping over Ichigo to dodge the follow up slash and then he saw the next part of the attack "Bolt!" The lightning shot out of Ichigo's hand and sent Renji flying back and off of the building, letting him land not far from where he had started off as Ichigo leapt off the roof to continue to push Renji back and not give him a chance to attack again.

"You are just full of surprises aren't you?!" Renji shouted as he swung and Ichigo was forced to block the attack "Your zanpakuto is unusual, giving you so many odd abilities but it's not going to be enough! I can feel your reiatsu dropping with every one of those little tricks you pull. You won't be able to keep this up much longer. And once you run out of reiatsu, you die!"

" _He's not a Vice-Captain for nothing it seems." Cloud noted "He's right, you don't have enough reiatsu to keep this up. We need to end this quickly, before Haste runs out."_

" _How much longer do I have?" Ichigo asked._

" _Not long. You can recast it one more time but then you are going to be running on empty." Cloud warned._

Ichigo didn't reply as he blocked the followup attacks and tried to land his blow, this time though Ichigo felt time kick back to normal as Haste ended and Ichigo saw that Renji saw the opening. Swinging Zabimaru down Ichigo felt the tip bite into him as it cut across this chest from his left shoulder going down to his right hip. Ichigo grimaced at the pain as he turned and realized that now he had a choice to make. If he healed he could continue to fight at close to his full strength but Haste would no longer be available, but if he used Haste he wouldn't have the strength to cut down Renji as he needed.

" _What will you choose Ichigo..." Cloud spoke quietly, more to himself then to Ichigo "How will you push forward now that the path is no longer clear. How will you defeat this enemy now that you no longer have the choice to have it all. Power or speed? Or will you find a third choice... I wonder... Can you be my living legacy...?"_

Ichigo was confused at this as he felt the power welling up in him, something similar to the feeling he had when Cloud was teaching him to use the Braver. A strength that came from within him, a power that only he could draw forth. He knew that he couldn't lose now, that he would die he if he failed this last strike. Charging forward Cloud Strife's edge glowed lightly as he struck with an upward slash that shattered Zabimaru to Renji's shock as he had tried to block the incoming attack. The second slash camed downward, slashing through Renji's left side in a spray of blood as Ichigo swung horizontally for the third slash right through Renji's stomach as a blast of reiatsu made two more cuts appear in the shape of an X on Renji's chest as he collapsed to his knees.

As the attack ended Ichigo wobbled as he felt almost all of his reiatsu disappear and he could barely see straight.

" _Well done..." Cloud smiled "Drawing on your power to unleash the Cross Slash... I am impressed."_

"Cross Slash..." Ichigo muttered aloud as Renji howled in a mixture of anger and anguish. Ichigo stared at Renji for a moment as he finally managed to stand shakily and move towards Ichigo, the shattered end of Zabimaru still in his hand.

"Now that I think about it... I was probably just scared... Because I... Damn... I really am a tramp down to my bones... I hate myself. I bark at the star, but... I don't have the courage to jump and grab it." He paused as he finally reached out with his free hand and grabbed Ichigo, both to make his point and to hold himself steady as he nearly collapsed "I... Never won once... Against Captain Kuchiki... Ever since Rukia left... I train everyday but I still failed... He is too strong. Fighting to get Rukia back... Is nothing but an impossible dream to me. Kurosaki... I'm probably shameless for doing this, but I have to ask you...! Please... You have to save Rukia!"

"Yeah..." Ichigo said quietly.

With that last bit of his strength depleted Renji collapsed onto the ground and Ichigo felt his exhaustion hit him even harder.

" _That is enough Ichigo. We do not have the strength to keep pushing forward. You are too exhausted from the constant battles you fought today, and while Cure closed the wounds you have still lost a great deal of blood throughout these battles." Cloud chided._

"ugh..." Ichigo groaned as he went down on one knee, his vision swimming.

"Ichigo!" Ganju shouted as he and Hanataro ran over, Ganju grabbing him and helping him stand.

"We... We need to fall back." Ichigo managed to get out.

"There are people coming!" Hanataro shouted, looking down the way "Three, maybe four or five!"

"Quick! Get us somewhere deserted!" Ganju shouted as Hanataro led them back to the door into the sewers and from there down a series of corridors to a deserted store room. Laying Ichigo down Ganju moved by the door while Hanataro stood over Ichigo.

"Just stay still, I can heal you," Hanataro said as he knelt down.

"Healing powers? So you guys don't use herbs to heal people?" Ganju asked.

"Yes. While the other divisions can only use their power when they're fighting, we of the Fourth Division have healing powers. Altough this is one of the only skills we know." Hanataro explained.

"So you can heal me. Thanks." Ichigo nodded as he closed his eyes "I... I think I have a concussion, and I lost a lot of blood."

"From only that wound?" Ganju frowned.

"I can heal myself too remember." Ichigo replied "But it only closes the wound..."

"Enough. I just need some time, I can have you completely healed in one night." Hanataro said in complete confidence.

"Ok... Thank you." Ichigo nodded as he closed his eyes and let Hanataro get to work, not noticing the mask that Hanataro pulled out as he examined the slash.


	7. Chapter 7

_AN* First off let me just say that I am sorry that this took so long to write. This chapter proved rather difficult to get written out and even now I am not a hundred percent satisfied with the final product, but I am hoping that all of you will be. Anyways leave your thoughts at the end and let me know what you think._

 **Kenpachi**

Ichigo awoke slowly, noting the snoring coming from Ganju's direction and could just barely hear the light snoring of Hanataro as well. Sitting up Ichigo glanced down and blinked at an object laying next to him that looked like the mask of a hollow, only slightly damaged from what looked like a bladed weapon, along the same path as the wound he had taken from Renji.

" _Where did that mask come from?" Ichigo thought._

" _I don't know..." Cloud trailed off quietly a tone of worry entering his voice "It is odd that it should appear, and bear damage nearly identical to the wound that you suffered."_

" _Well once the others wake up we'll try to get into the White Tower this time. We should hopefully be able to get Rukia out without anyone too dangerous getting in our way." Ichigo noted._

" _Perhaps. It depends on what the others have done. Your battle against Renji yesterday might draw their attention more towards this area then you might think."_

" _Oh yeah." Ichigo sighed "Renji was pretty tough, but I was pretty tired from all of the fighting."_

" _True. You might stand a better chance today, but let's not get overconfident. The Captains are bound to be much stronger and you have already faced one that was only at one fifth of his full strength, and you were unable to match him." Cloud warned "This isn't even taking into account that the moment that we break Rukia out we need to rendevouz with everyone else and then find a way out."_

" _Yeah, how are we going to get out of here? Think we could get Jidanbou to open the gate for us?"_

" _How would we contact him?" Cloud asked._

" _No clue. We didn't think this through did we?" Ichigo sighed._

" _It is safe to assume that Youichi has some sort of exit strategy planned, but on the off chance that he doesn't we need to consider our options." Cloud replied._

" _Think we could destroy one of the gates and make a run for it?" Ichigo asked._

" _Maybe, depending on how much you progress in your spells. Some of the stronger ones might be able to punch a hole through the gate, and with the others helping it might be enough for us to get clear."_

Ichigo let the conversation stop there as he stood up and moved towards the door to the store room as he glanced around the sewer before nodding and thinking on Cloud's point. They were going to need to find a way out once they freed Rukia, and once they did bust her out the hunt for them was only going to intensify, and the Captains would likely be leading the charge. While confident in his skills Ichigo wasn't an idiot and knew that facing multiple Captains at once wasn't going to end well for him and that meant that once Rukia was free they would need to hide out somewhere while finding where the others were holed up at. Staring into the hallway Ichigo turned when he heard Ganju waking up and shouting angrily at Hanataro who had drooled on the leg that he had been using as a pillow.

"He's too tired, a little drooling is no big deal." Ichigo remarked.

"Ichigo! You're ok?!" Ganju exclaimed.

"Yeah. Thanks to Hanataro. Looks like he healed you too." Ichigo noted, nodding towards the fully healed Ganju "Seems like he tended to you after he was finished with me. Anyways once he's awake we get going. We have to make it today."

Ganju nodded as they glanced at the still asleep Hanataro who remained that way for a few more minutes before sleepily waking up and remembering where he was. He was ready in just a few moments, after showing them the pill that he had been given that would fully restore him, getting dubious looks from Ichigo and Ganju.

"Really?" Ichigo asked.

"It has a skull design on it, is it a joke?" Ganju added.

"If I swallow one my stamina will be miraculously restored." Hanataro explained as he swallowed the pill, and nothing seemed to happen "Come, let's go."

"Wait a minute!" Ganju exclaimed.

"What?" the shinigami asked.

"Are you sure that worked?" Ichigo asked

"What are you talking about? Don't I look completely re-energized?"

"Not at all." Ichigo replied.

"You got ripped off." Ganju added.

" _Without a doubt this poor fool has been the butt of many a joke." Cloud sighed._

* * *

It took about thirty minutes for them to get back to the exit and as they climbed out there seemed to be no one nearby.

"A fight took place here yesterday and they didn't assign anyone to guard the area? Weird..." Ichigo noted.

"Maybe they think the enemy won't appear in the same place twice?" Ganju offered.

"Maybe..." Ichigo trailed off.

" _It is odd, but we did retreat yesterday so they might think that this isn't our actual target." Cloud offered "It depends on if Ikkaku informed anyone of where we were going or if the others have left anyone behind that could tell them our target."_

"Oi, what do you think the others are doing? The glasses guy in the white robe and the cutie with brown hair..."

"Cutie? Haven't heard that for awhile... Are you talking about Ishida and Inoue?" Ichigo remarked "Both of them are a hundred times smarter then me. They would avoid any fight that they aren't confident in winning. There's no need to worry, they'll be fine."

"What about the other guy... Chad?" Ganju asked.

"Even less need to worry." Ichigo stated as he turned towards the steps.

"What? We don't even know if he is alive!" Ganju shouted.

"Of course he is." Ichigo said "I can feel it. His spiritual pressure, I've felt it ever since we landed in the city. Plus, it is completely unimaginable that Chad would ever lose to anyone."

With that Ichigo was starting up the stairs with Ganju and Hanataro right behind him. The stairs were steep and went up several hundred meters and once they reached the top they noted a lack of guards here as well.

" _Something is wrong here..." Cloud muttered, just as the three were almost brought to their knees by the monstrous reiatsu._

"What... Where the hell is this spiritual pressure coming from? What the heck is this?!" Ichigo asked in shock. It took all of their strength to keep standing and as Ichigo and Cloud both tried to sense where the person who was emitting the reiatsu was they realized that it was so vast that there was no way of identifying the source.

"Run!" Ichigo shouted to Ganju and Hanataro "I can't figure out what exactly is going on but I'm sure that someone very strong is around here! Before they find us we need to run as far as we can!"

The other two nodded as they started following after Ichigo who took off as fast as he could, though nowhere near as fast as he could normally run.

" _This is bad." Cloud muttered as he helped Ichigo fend off the reiatsu "We've already covered quite a bit of ground but we are no further from the source."_

" _What do we do then?" Ichigo asked._

" _I don't know." Cloud admitted "But for now keep moving, if we are lucky we might be able to find an area more suited for combat or a means of losing whomever it is that is the source of this."_

A few minutes after that Hanataro collapsed from the pressure, forcing Ganju to pick him up and keep running, though he wasn't doing too much better himself. Another few steps and Ichigo felt it, the presence of a person right next to his ear speaking calmly.

"Are you it?"

Stopping Ichigo turned and stared up at the rooftops hundreds of meters above where a figure crouched. His face split in a maniacal grin, his hair tied up into spikes, an eyepatch covering one of his eyes and the other having a scar running down next to it, and a captain's coat billowing in the light breeze. Ichigo froze as he saw the man and a moment later he heard him speaking again.

"What's wrong with you? Don't just stand there and stare." This time he was behind him and Ichigo felt a blade piercing him from behind.

" _Focus Ichigo!" Cloud shouted, dispelling the illusion caused by the Captain's sheer killer intent._

"Are you Kurosaki Ichigo?" the man asked from where he stood behind the young Shinigami.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Ichigo asked, his breathing still panicked as he turned to face the man.

"Oh? Didn't Ikkaku tell you about me?"

" _This is bad..." Cloud said quietly as he remembered Ikkaku's warning from the day before._

"I'm the Captain of the 11th division, Kenpachi Zaraki. I've come here to kill you." Kenpachi stated, his bloodthirsty grin never faltering.

" _I think you're right Cloud. This is bad. He's like nothing I've ever seen before."_

" _Indeed. He surpasses Renji by a hundred fold at the very least." Cloud agreed._

"So? I've told you that I'm here to kill you. You haven't said anything in response. Does that mean you are ready to start?" Kenpachi asked, his reiatsu and killer intent flaring up. Ichigo reacted instantly, grabbing Cloud's hilt and preparing to fight when he heard Ganju fall to his knees and Hanataro collapse completely.

"Hanataro!" Ichigo shouted as it looked like the Shinigami was about to die.

"Don't be... stupid... Ichigo... Hanataro and I are just a little stunned by the pressure... We'll be fine." Ganju gasped out as he managed to stand " Stop worrying about us and look in front of you. If you don't you'll be beaten in an instant."

"Ganju..." Ichigo began.

"OH! He's drooling!" a happy young girl's voice exclaimed from where Kenpachi was standing. Blinking in shock Ichigo turned to look at the source of the voice when he felt a small person landing on his shoulder, standing there on one foot "Waa... Ken-chan really scared him. Poor thing."

"Damn." Ichigo cursed as he moved his arm and forced the young pink haired girl to leap back by Kenpachi.

"He got angry." she noted.

"Idiot. It's your fault." Kenpachi remarked as he stared down at the small Vice-Captain.

Drawing Cloud Strife off of his back Ichigo prepared to fight as he shouted "Ganju! Take Hanataro out of here! I'll try and stop this guy, go and save Rukia!"

"But... By yourself." Ganju tried to argue.

"Shut up! Just go!" Ichigo shouted.

"Ok..." Ganju trailed off as he grabbed Hanataro and took off at a dead sprint away from the two enemy Shinigami who just stared at him as he ran, showing no interest.

"That's a surprise." Ichigo noted "Neither of you are chasing them, isn't your objective to stop us?"

"For the last time, I am here to fight you." Kenpachi stated "I don't give a damn about your friends or Kuchiki. They can die anywhere they want for all I care."

"That's good, you punk." Ichigo snarled as he prepared to fight. Kenpachi stared at him for a moment, assessing him and seeming somewhat satisfied.

"Not bad. Your stance looks good, though there are quite a few openings it is high in reiatsu. Our Vice-Captains should be no match for you. No wonder Ikkaku lost."

"Thanks." Ichigo remarked, keeping his stance as he stared at the Captain.

"Though you are still far weaker then me... How about this? I'll give you a chance." Kenpachi remarked as he bared his chest to Ichigo "Cut me anywhere you want, and don't hold back."

"What? What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not going to attack somebody that isn't even armed, do you think I'm stupid?!" Ichigo shouted.

"No I don't think you're stupid. This is just a handicap, charity." Kenpachi replied "It's nice of you not wanting to attack an unarmed person, but you should save your sympathy for somebody else. Don't be so stuck up, just enjoy this. Killing and being killed are just a way to pass the time! Come! Neck, stomach, eye, anywhere! It'll be even better if you kill me in one blow! What are you afraid of?! COME ON!"

" _Ichigo, pour everything that you have into this slash!" Cloud shouted "This man's reiatsu acts like armor, if we are going to even scratch him we need to cut through it!"_

"Shit! You asked for it! Don't regret it later!" Ichigo shouted as he did as Cloud instructed, pouring everything that he could into the edge of his blade, swinging it at Kenpachi's chest in a diagnol slash. The sword bit into the flesh but only barely as Ichigo finished the swing and stepped back, as Kenpachi stared down at the small wound with a growing smile.

"Not bad at all Kurosaki Ichigo!" Kenpachi laughed as he drew his blade "Now the fun can really begin!"

Rushing forward Kenpachi brought his blade down in a powerful swing that took all of Ichigo's strength to withstand and he heard Cloud grunt in pain at the blow.

" _Cloud?!"_

" _Focus Ichigo. It's going to take every last bit or reiatsu that we possess to beat this monster." Cloud chided "We can't afford to use any spells or special sword skills. The slightest drop in our reiatsu will get us killed."_

Focusing on Kenpachi Ichigo turned the strike aside and swung again, making another small nick in Kenpachi who laughed like mad as he struck again and forced Ichigo back a step as the orange haired shinigami attacked again, only to have his blow met by Kenpachi's who used the fact that his reiatsu made it so hard to cut him and grabbed the tip of Cloud Strife to pull Ichigo into the air where he tried to stab him. Twisting in midair Ichigo managed to avoid the thrust and kick at the back of Kenpachi's free arm to knock himself back towards the ground where he swung again only to have Kenpachi leap into the air and come crashing down with a powerful strike that caved in the ground under Ichigo's feet. Using both hands Ichigo managed to knock Kenpachi's blade up enough for him to slip under it and strike again, pushing Kenpachi back a step as Ichigo swung at Kenpachi's right side where his eye was covered only to have the Captain block it with ease and a laugh as he countered and put Ichigo on the defensive again. Moving through the maze of corridors their battle raged, with Ichigo constantly on the defensive as he fought and tried to wound the Captain in front of him but the gap was too much. Twisting back from a vicious thrust Ichigo felt something that jarred him from his focus on the battle.

" _Chad!"_

" _Focus Ichigo!" Cloud shouted._

Kenpachi seemed to realize Ichigo was distracted as he swung at Ichigo who barely blocked the strike.

"Hey now, don't get distracted." Kenpachi snarled "The fun has only just begun."

" _Ichigo you need to focus on the man in front of you. If you don't you will only wind up dead and you won't be able to save Chad. He still lives for now and we will go and save him once we are able to, but we can do nothing for him now except win."_

Ichigo tried to follow Cloud's advice but his concern for his friend made it challenging at best. Blocking another strike and delivering another small wound Ichigo managed to focus his concern for Chad into his own intent on defeating the man in front of him as he countered again and pushed Kenpachi back a step as he moved and let the Captain's attack slash through another chunk of building. As the battle progressed Ichigo became more accustomed to Kenpachi, using the bells to know when he was moving a certain way and the gap in his vision that that eyepatch caused to his advantage as he kept the Captain on his toes.

"Very good Ichigo! You're finally using the handicaps! The bells, the eyepatch, they are all tools to make the battle more enjoyable!" Kenpachi laughed "If you don't make use of them the battle will be boring."

"Damn, you're still underestimating me. Is that the reason you haven't unleashed your Zanpakuto?" Ichigo asked. Kenpachi's battle crazed grin faded at that as he stared at Ichigo and glancing at his Zanpakuto as well "What are you thinking? I've already managed to wound you, if you keep holding back I will beat you." Ichigo continued.

"My Zanpakuto has no name." Kenpachi stated, interrupting Ichigo.

"What?"

"This is the only form of my sword. I didn't put any seal on it." Kenpachi explained "This is the true form of my Zanpakuto." Kenpachi said as he held the blade up in front of his face as though he were examining it.

"Oh yeah? That's good to know." Ichigo remarked with a grin "So your sword won't get any stronger."

" _No Ichigo!" Cloud shouted._

"So..." Kenpachi said as he rushed Ichigo with a thrust that the orange haired shinigami blocked with the flat of his blade "So what? You will win if you just try a little bit harder? You're the one underestimating me!" Kenpachi exclaimed "The reason why there is no seal, is because my spiritual pressure is so strong that even the strongest seal won't do any good. So when I fight I just hold back on how hard I swing." With that his murderous reiatsu returned with a vengeance as Ichigo could barely stand and keep his guard up as Kenpachi started to push the tip of his blade harder "Do you see? If I don't hold back my enemies will become so weak that I can't enjoy it at all." And with that his blade pierced though Cloud Strife and right into Ichigo's chest, nearly spearing him all the way through "I told you not to relax... Your reiatsu has become this weak, just because you saw a chance to win." With a displeased look on his face Kenpachi pulled his blade out of Ichigo and out of Cloud Strife as he stood over the collapsing shinigami "What a boring end."

As Ichigo collapsed Cloud Strife landed in front of him as he lay on the ground and Ichigo desperately tried to find the strength to live and keep fighting.

"Sure you could scratch me... Sure you could hear the bells. But none of that matters if you don't last." Kenpachi complained more to himself as he stood over Ichigo "This is it?" he paused as he stared at Ichigo before turning and starting to walk away "How dull."

Ichigo tried to move, to get his hands to cover the nearly fatal wound that he had received, to try and recover so he could fight Kenpachi but found that he couldn't move so much as a single centimeter as he felt his strength disappearing.

" _Damn it..." he cursed "Move! I need to heal... I need to keep going... I need to save Rukia!"_

"Save Rukia? You couldn't even save yourself Ichigo." Cloud remarked.

Ichigo blinked in shock as he saw the blond haired Zanpakuto standing in front of him, his face showing only disappointment and anger at the young man laying before him.

"I can beat him."

"Can you?" Cloud asked as he stared at him his blue eyes burning into Ichigo with a quiet intensity "Do you even deserve to?"

"Deserve to?" Ichigo asked in shock.

"You are an idiot." Cloud sighed as he stepped closer then crouched down to put his hand on Ichigo's head "To fight and die, or to live and give up. Those are your only two choices right now. Choose."

"Want to win..."

"Excuse me?" Cloud asked.

"It's pointless to just fight, pointless to just live. I want to win!" Ichigo shouted.

Cloud's cold gaze warmed slightly as he spoke "Very well then." With that Ichigo fell into darkness, only to find himself standing in his own inner world once again, facing down Cloud, who bore the Buster Sword on his shoulder while in front of Ichigo there was only a katana stabbed into the ground.

"Cloud?" Ichigo asked as he saw that his wounds were healed.

"You want to win so badly? Then you are going to have to prove to me that you are worth my time."

"Your time?!" Ichigo asked in shock "What do you mean?"

"I will no longer be party to a fool who thinks he can win just because his enemies weapon does not shift form. You disregarded my warnings earlier, you played the part of an idiot novice when Rukia needs a hero, a champion to fight for her. If you want the strength to crush Kenpachi, to destroy any and all that would seek to oppose you then you must claim it. You must prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are indeed my living legacy, that you are indeed going to be the one who will carry on what must be done. Prove to me that I was not wrong in choosing you, or perish both in here and out there. There is no middle ground any more, no safe way to travel. Claim my power for your own, claim the strength that has been passed down from one warrior to the next. Or fail and disappear from this world. The choice as I said is yours." With that Cloud held the blade above his head where it gained a shine to it as he swung it down in a two handed grip that sent a blast of energy flying towards Ichigo who yelped in fear as he grabbed the smaller blade and leapt to the side. Landing in a crouch he saw the Zanpakuto walking towards him and had a sinking pit begin to form in the pit of his stomach.

"Oh shit."


End file.
